Joe Biden blasts GOP over opposition to student loan forgiveness plan
Asher Notheis
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President Joe Biden criticized Republicans who are attempting to halt his student loan forgiveness plan, claiming he finds their opposition to his plan “outrageous.”
Biden made his comment while delivering a commencement speech at Howard University located in Washington D.C. on Saturday. The president pointed to how many Republicans who do not want his student loan forgiveness to materialize also received relief loans “to keep their businesses afloat” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“I found it outrageous,” said Biden.
During his speech, Biden claimed his forgiveness plan would help “tens of millions of people” and would even wipe student debt for some people. The president also claimed the plan would be incredibly beneficial to people on Pell Grants, which are given to college students who display exceptional financial need, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Student loans have been on pause since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and are set to resume 60 days after either June 30 or when the Supreme Court rules on Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, whichever comes sooner.
On Friday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) wrote a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, where the two Republicans expressed concern on possible fraud in the Department of Education‘s new income-driven repayment policies for student loans.
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The repayment program allows student loan borrowers to make lower monthly payments corresponding to their income above the poverty line, with the two lawmakers noting that the plan would lead to fraud because the department does not require a borrower to verify their income.
Candora reaffirmed during a Senate appropriations committee hearing that the pause on student loans will end no later than June 30, noting how the emergency period “is over and we’re preparing our borrowers to restart,” according to Axios.