President Biden on Wednesday announced the cancellation of $1.2 billion in student loan debt for more than 150,000 borrowers, saying the relief will allow them to buy homes, start families and otherwise benefit the economy.
“Folks, I'm glad we were able to forgive these loans because when we… relieve Americans of student debt, they are free to pursue their dreams,” he told dozens of supporters at Culver City's Julian Dixon Library.
Biden attempted to implement a much broader plan but was blocked by the Supreme Court. That's why he has used executive actions to cancel student debt totaling $138 billion for nearly 3.9 million people, according to the White House.
People who qualify for the new relief, who originally borrowed up to $12,000 and have been making monthly payments for at least 10 years, will receive an email from the president this week. They were enrolled in a program known as SAVE, which determines monthly debt payments based on income and family size, and also shortens the life of loans for many borrowers.
“It's all about… giving people a chance, a fighting chance to get it done,” Biden said.
Biden's quick appearance, an official White House event, comes as Democrats are increasingly concerned about disenchantment among young voters who are a key part of the coalition Biden needs to motivate to participate in the general election. autumn.
Republicans criticized the move as a cynical, taxpayer-funded ploy to burnish Biden's re-election chances.
“More than 60 percent of Americans don't have a college degree, but Joe Biden wants hard-working taxpayers to foot the bills for higher education for a select minority. Meanwhile, families are struggling with lower real wages, higher prices and more credit card debt than four years ago,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement. “In Biden’s desperate attempt to use his money to buy votes, American families are being left behind.”
Biden was joined at the event by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Senator Alex Padilla and other California elected officials.
It was the president's last event on a two-day tour of Los Angeles. Hours earlier, Biden Stopped by CJ's Café. in Baldwin Hills, he ordered a breakfast burrito and posed for photos with customers.
He headlined a major fundraiser Tuesday night at media mogul Haim Saban's sprawling Beverly Park estate. Biden told his supporters, including actress Jane Fonda, that voters would have a “very clear” choice in the general election, when he will presumably have a rematch with former President Trump.
“Time and time again, Republicans demonstrate that they are a party of chaos and disunity. They shout about the problems but they offer nothing,” Biden told a couple hundred people who paid up to $250,000 to attend. “They have no platform.”
“Are they here to solve problems or simply use them as a weapon for political attacks?” Biden said of the Republican Party, adding that in a second term, he would work to restore abortion and voting rights, strengthen the Affordable Care Act and Social Security, increase access to affordable housing and make corporations pay their fair share of taxes. “I'm here to serve the people.”
Saban and co-host Casey Wasserman, president of LA28, the committee that organizes the Los Angeles Olympics, tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and were unable to attend the event.
Biden headed to the Bay Area on Wednesday afternoon and will hold additional fundraisers there before leaving the state on Thursday. This is likely Biden's last trip to California before Super Tuesday on March 5, when California and more than a dozen other states hold primaries.
