Some Americans will get their student loans canceled in February as Biden accelerates his new plan
Republicans say President Joe Biden's plan to start canceling student loans for some borrowers in February is an attempt to win voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration will start canceling student loans for some borrowers in February as part of a new repayment plan that's taking effect nearly six months ahead of schedule.
Loan forgiveness was originally set to begin in July under the new SAVE repayment plan, but it’s being accelerated to provide faster relief to borrowers, President Joe Biden said Friday. It’s part of an effort “to act as quickly as possible to give more borrowers breathing room” and move on from their student debt, the Democratic president said in a statement.
Borrowers will be eligible for cancellation if they are enrolled in the new SAVE plan, if they originally borrowed $12,000 or less to attend college, and if they have made at least 10 years of payments. The Education Department said it didn’t immediately know how many borrowers will be eligible for cancellation in February.
Biden announced the new repayment plan last year alongside a separate plan to cancel up to $20,000 in loans for millions of Americans. The Supreme Court struck down his plan for widespread forgiveness, but the repayment plan has so far escaped that level of legal scrutiny. Unlike his proposal for mass cancellation — which had never been done before — the repayment plan is a twist on existing income-based plans created by Congress more than a decade ago.
Republicans in Congress tried unsuccessfully to block the new repayment plan through legislation and a resolution last year.
The accelerated forgiveness drew fire from Republicans, who called it an attempt to win voters ahead of the
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