The Biden administration seeks to forgive billions in student loans.
The U.S. Department of Education issued an announcement that more than 320,00 Americans will have a total of $5.8 billion in student loans forgiven.
These individuals are classified as permanently disabled.
However, Democrats are calling on the Biden administration to go further in forgiving more loans, shifting the burden onto taxpayers and future American generations laden with debt.
Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal called for a larger debt forgiveness program. Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren also called on Joe Biden to move forward with canceling the $50,000 in debt for borrowers.
The new release from the Dept. of Education reads, “Over 323,000 borrowers who have a total and permanent disability (TPD) will receive more than $5.8 billion in automatic student loan discharges due to a new regulation announced today by the U.S. Department of Education.”
There is a “three-year monitoring period,” but the Education Department said it is seeking to end that monitoring period.
The department also notes that borrowers will no longer have to provide information about their income.
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement said, “From day one, I’ve stressed that the Department of Education is a service agency. We serve students, educators, and families across the country to ensure that educational opportunity is available to all.”
He continued, “We’ve heard loud and clear from borrowers with disabilities and advocates about the need for this change and we are excited to follow through on it.”
“This change reduces red tape with the aim of making processes as simple as possible for borrowers who need support,” he concluded.
These Americans were identified through a data match with the Social Security Administration.
News: Today, ED announced a new regulation that will provide more than $5.8 billion in automatic student loan discharges to over 323,000 borrowers who have a total & permanent disability (TPD). https://t.co/mou1pKDeSR
Advertisementpic.twitter.com/Dg4yd2JiWhAdvertisement— U.S. Department of Education (@usedgov) August 19, 2021
More from Western Journal:
The Education Department said the goal of the new changes for permanently disabled borrowers is to ensure their student loan debt is automatically forgiven as it works with the SSA.
That will mean that people who have balances with the federal government will not have to fill out loan forgiveness applications.
“This new regulation allows the Department to provide automatic TPD discharges for borrowers who are identified through administrative data matching by removing the requirement for these borrowers to fill out an application before receiving relief,” the department said.
Borrowers deemed permanently disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs already do not have to apply as the Education Department cross-references their information with the VA.
The Education Department bragged that since “the Biden-Harris Administration” took office, $8.7 billion in student loans have been discharged for an estimated 455,000 borrowers.
The student debt forgiveness announcement will likely not go far enough for proponents of discharging up to $50,000 in student debt for all borrowers.
Here are the tweets from Jayapal and Schumer:
Today would be a great day for @POTUS to finally cancel at least $50,000 of student loan debt per borrower.https://t.co/9aLXnkWObu
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) August 19, 2021
Millions of Americans are struggling under the burden of student debt, and the pandemic has exacerbated this problem.
President Biden can use his existing legal authority to #CancelStudentDebt. https://t.co/i7agEoiu0T
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) August 18, 2021
