After weeks of waiting, student loan borrowers can now apply for President Biden’s program to receive up to $20,000 in debt cancellation.
Biden officially launched the app on Monday after the Education Department opened the form over the weekend as part of a beta test, hoping to find and fix any problems. on the spot. So far, eight million people have applied, the president said. He estimates that the White House has received about 10,000 letters from borrowers praising one of his signature economic policies.
“My commitment was that if elected president, I would make the government work to give to the people. This release upholds that commitment,” Biden said in a press event. “Just as I am maintaining my commitment to student debt relief as borrowers recover from this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic economic crisis.”
Biden’s plan is to write off up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for people making less than $125,000 a year, or less than $250,000 for married couples. Those who received Pell Grants, federal aid for lower-income students, could have up to $20,000 forgiven.
The policy has led to a series of lawsuits from conservative groups and Republican-led states alleging that the president overstepped his authority with the mass cancellation. Biden strongly defended the debt relief policy on Monday. “Republican members of Congress, Republican governors are trying to do everything they can to deny this relief even to their own constituents,” Biden said. “As soon as I announced my student debt plan, they started attacking it. Their outrage is wrong and hypocritical.”
Here’s what you need to know about the application process.