Statement from President Joe Biden on Supreme Court Decision on Student Loan Debt Relief
This fight is not over. I will have more to announce when I address the nation this afternoon.
My
Administration’s student debt relief plan would have been the lifeline
tens of millions of hardworking Americans needed as they try to recover
from a once-in-a-century pandemic. Nearly 90 percent of the relief from
our plan would have gone to borrowers making less than $75,000 a year,
and none of it would have gone to people making more than $125,000. It
would have been life-changing for millions of Americans and their
families. And it would have been good for economic growth, both in the
short- and long-term.
The hypocrisy of Republican elected
officials is stunning. They had no problem with billions in
pandemic-related loans to businesses – including hundreds of thousands
and in some cases millions of dollars for their own businesses. And
those loans were forgiven. But when it came to providing relief to
millions of hard-working Americans, they did everything in their power
to stop it.
While today’s decision is disappointing, we should
not lose sight of the progress we’ve made – making historic increases to
Pell Grants; forgiving loans for teachers, firefighters, and others in
public service; and creating a new debt repayment plan, so no one with
an undergraduate loan has to pay more than 5 percent of their
discretionary income.
I believe that the Court’s decision to strike down our student debt relief plan is wrong.
But
I will stop at nothing to find other ways to deliver relief to
hard-working middle-class families. My Administration will continue to
work to bring the promise of higher education to every American.
And
later today, I will provide more detail on all that my Administration
has done to help students and the next steps my Administration will
take.
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