President Joe Biden Wisconsin visit; unveils student debt relief plan
MADISON, Wis. - President Joe Biden has new plans that could erase some of your student loan debt. Biden made the national announcement at Madison College's Truax Campus.
Republicans, however, call it an "election year giveaway."
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2023 blocked his first plan to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt.
Now, he's trying again.
President Biden's new proposal would cancel some interest if you’re a borrower who owes more now than when you started paying off the loans.
The White House says 23 million of these borrowers would have their accrued interest fully erased.
That’s for people who are in what's called an income-driven repayment plan, with incomes for a single person less than $120,000, or couples making less than $240,000.
President Joe Biden visits Madison, WI
"And for low and middle class families enrolled in my save program, will cancel all of your interest, all of your interest," President Biden remarked at the event.
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The White House says another two million people would have their loans canceled because they are eligible but haven’t applied for programs.
The plan would also cancel debt if you've been paying back just undergrad debt for at least 20 years, and those paying off any graduate debt for more than 25 years.
Republican states file suit to stop Biden's SAVE student loan repayment plan
The Kansas-led lawsuit seeks to halt the SAVE plan immediately, arguing that the U.S. Department of Education has no authority to alter student loan repayment plans, essentially canceling more than $156 million in student loan debt.
"Today, too many Americans, especially young people, are saddled with unsustainable debt in exchange for college degrees. The ability for working and middle class people to pay back their student loans has become so burdensome that a lot can’t repay it for even decades after being in schools," President Biden added.
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The visit comes six days after former president Donald Trump campaigned in Wisconsin, six days after Wisconsin primary voters cast their ballots.
Biden cancels student loans for 78,000 more public workers
Another 78,000 Americans are getting their federal student loans canceled.
It sparked worrying signs for both parties.
Republicans can claim a win in Wisconsin, where about 23,000 more people voted for Republican presidential candidates than Democrats.
Democrats can also claim a win the state as well; President Biden got 35,000 more primary votes than former president Trump.
Still, 45,000 Democratic primary voters picked "uninstructed." That's more than double his 2020 margin of victory.
Again, the battle for the White House runs right through Wisconsin.
Reaction
State Sen. Julian Bradley (R-Franklin)
"President Biden has spent years attempting to shift the burden of student loan debt from those who attended college to taxpayers broadly," Senator Bradley said. "Biden's radical government overreach demonstrates a dramatic transfer of wealth from working-class Americans to college graduates. If you take out a loan, you should pay it back. This is nothing more than an attempt to buy student’s votes in an election year."
Congressman Bryan Steil (R-WI District 1)
"Today, President Biden is back in Wisconsin pitching another expensive, inflationary election year giveaway. His student loan debt repayment plan is an unconstitutional abuse of power and is unfair to anyone who did not go to college or paid off their own loans."
Eric Hovde (Republican candidate for U.S. Senate)
"Transferring the cost of President Biden's student debt forgiveness to hardworking taxpayers who never had the opportunity to go to college, to those who worked their way through college or repaid their loans is fundamentally unfair. This plan, supported by Senator Baldwin, will only deepen our debt crisis, causing either higher taxes or the insidious tax of inflation on the American people. As a 38 year career politician, Senator Baldwin is promoting a vote-buying scheme that only furthers the rising cost of higher education."
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley
"Biden wants to use your tax dollars to buy votes because more and more young people are supporting President Trump. Here’s the truth: Biden’s student loan bailout for the wealthy was already struck down by the Supreme Court and his policies are driving historic inflation while crushing industries like manufacturing and agriculture. Wisconsinites can’t afford Bidenomics – we need to elect President Trump to get our economy back on track."