Biden announces new measures to alleviate student debt

The American president, Joe Bidenannounced this Monday new measures to relieve student debt for millions of citizens, including programs for loan and interest forgiveness.

One of the measures made public in Madison, Wisconsin, will provide immediate debt relief for many borrowers in cancellation programs but who have not completed their applications due to administrative difficulties.

Millions more borrowers, the president said without detailing any figures, could qualify for debt relief if they experience difficulties in their daily lives that prevent them from paying their loans now or in the future.

Biden pointed out the situation of millions of people who now owe more than they owed when they began paying on their loans due to interest, and the White House noted that this is the case for many Latinos and African Americans.

According to the US Presidency, Latinos with student debt are more likely than whites to default on their payments, and they also represent a disproportionate number of students enrolled in private universities.

Interest rates on federal student loans exceed 8% and there are more than 25 million borrowers with debt now greater than the amount borrowed.

The White House estimates that, under the planned measures, up to $20,000 in unpaid interest will be forgiven for some debtors, regardless of their income level.

“Our student loan system is bankrupt.“, he claimed Biden in his speech at the University of Wisconsin.

“Although a college diploma is the ticket to the middle class, it has become too expensive”he added. ““Too many Americans, especially young people, are burdened by unsustainable debt.”

Biden affirmed that the programs his government has established to relieve the debt of some 30 million people and the new measures announced this Monday are good for the economy and “they free millions from that burden”.