President Joe Biden may announce cancellation of student debt on Wednesday

iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-

US President Joe Biden is likely to announce student loan relief on Wednesday in addition to an extension of the existing payment pause, The Hill reported citing sources.

The move comes just a week ahead of the White House’s self-imposed August 31 deadline as the timing has left millions of Americans in a frenzy over guidance from the Department of Education on whether student loan payments which have been deferred since the start of the pandemic would resume next month. President Biden’s intended measure will include at least $10,000 in loan forgiveness for borrowers who make less than $125,000 annually, The Hill reported.

As per The Hill, the White House under Biden and former President Trump, extended the pause six times since March 2020, sometimes giving borrowers up to a month’s notice on whether their bills would be due.

Trump’s order temporarily stopped the accrual of interest on federal student loans, effectively putting $1.6 trillion in debt owed by some 40 million Americans on hold. Since Biden has taken office, his administration has greenlighted over $31 billion in student loan relief for hundreds of thousands of borrowers.

Earlier in April, the Biden administration issued a release announcing that it is taking steps to correct “historic failures” that have hamstrung some 46 million student loan borrowers in debt amounting to $1.75 trillion.

“Today, the Department of Education announced steps that will bring borrowers closer to public service loan and income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness by addressing historical failures in the administration of the federal student loan programs, he stated.