Biden Plans to Cancel 28 Million Student Loans Before Election
The Biden Administration after the Supreme Court ruled last summer that it was unconstitutional for the President to write-off $147 billion of federal student loans, is about to release regulatory change that would allow an even bigger write-off for people making up to $300,000 a year just before the November 5, 2024 elections.
About 43 million American residents now owe over $1.6 trillion in federal student loans. Biden Administration polling found that about 27 percent of U.S. residents had student debt themselves or had someone in their households with student debt.
The Biden administration that now refers to its illegal first attempt to use the $3 trillion Hero’s Act for Covid-19 relief to cancel student debt as “Plan A”, is about to release its new Education Department radical re-interpretation of Section 432 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 “hardship” regulation to cancel all or portions of an even larger $750 billion in student loans for about 28 million borrowers as “Plan B.”
The American Association of Teachers said its 2024 election polling found “70 percent of voters, including 67 percent of those who have already paid off their loans, think the government should take some action to alleviate student debt. Strong majorities—across party affiliation—favor government intervention on student debt.”
According to 120 Republican lawmaker that are actively opposed to “Plan B,” Biden’s regulatory change would rely on text from the 1965 law that states: “the Commissioner of Education at the Department of Health Education and Welfare the power to “enforce, pay, compromise, waive, or release any right, title, claim, lien, or demand, however acquired, including any equity or any right or redemption” under the Federal Loan Insurance Program.”
The Republicans point out that Plan B will be unconstitutional, because there is no history drafters of the 1965 law or 2008 reauthorization, contemplated their words being used to cancel up to 60% of all federal student loans. The Republican group stated:
“In addition to the fiscally irresponsible nature of this backdoor attempt to enact “free” college, the administration continues to use borrowers as political pawns knowing full well these proposed actions are illegal. The Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that there is zero authority to write-off federal student loans en masse last June when the Department’s “Plan A” was ruled unconstitutional.”
More than 125,000 letters were filed during the 30-day regulatory change comment period that ended on May 17th. A large number of opposition comments complained that the regulatory proposal attempts “to transfer the student loan debt onto people who didn’t take out loans for college or already paid them off.”
The Plan B official regulatory change is expected to be finalized after 120-day review period and issued around September 15th, or about 7 weeks before the 2024 elections.
