President Joe Biden voiced his strong opposition to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn his $400 billion student loan forgiveness proposal, signaling a commitment to challenge the conservative triumph.
At a press conference on Friday, Biden revealed plans to initiate an alternative strategy that, controversially, would burden hard-working Americans with the cost of college tuition for students who have chosen to pursue higher education.
In Biden’s words, “This new path is legally sound. It’s going to take longer. And in my view, it’s the best path to student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible.” He further asserted his belief in the plan’s legality and its potential to provide extensive debt relief, albeit with an extended timeline.
In a bid to enact his plan, Biden intends to utilize the Higher Education Act. This would empower Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to “compromise, waive or release loans under certain circumstances.”
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The president also plans to roll out a 12-month “on-ramp repayment program” on a temporary basis. This initiative would postpone repayment of loans by students, offering them a reprieve.
Biden staunchly defended his comprehensive student loan forgiveness program, suggesting it would stimulate the national economy and contribute to the country’s welfare.
The veteran Democrat took a swipe at Republicans, alleging their hypocrisy in backing pandemic loan forgiveness for businesses while denying similar relief to student borrowers.
He commented, “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.”
The Supreme Court, on Friday, ruled 6-3 in favor of the Republicans, nullifying Biden’s $400 billion student debt plan—a considerable setback to the Democrats.
