Biden to discuss student loan relief at New Mexico Community College
Biden says 22 million have applied for student loan relief
Watch: Speaking at the University of Delaware, Biden criticized Republicans in Congress for criticizing student loan relief, when some were forgiven millions of dollars in loans for pandemic relief.
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – President Joe Biden is set to discuss his administration’s plan for student loan forgiveness at an event in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday.
The speech came a little more than 10 days after an appeals court temporarily halted the plan while it hears a petition by six Republican-led states to block the loan cancellation program. The suspension ordered the Biden administration not to act on the program while it considers an appeal.
The stay came just a day after another federal judge rejected efforts by Republican states to block the plan.
U.S. District Judge Henry Autry in St. Louis wrote that because six states — Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina — failed to prove standing, “the Court lacks jurisdiction to hear this case.”
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on student debt relief at the University of Delaware on October 21, 2022 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Biden’s plan would eliminate $10,000 in federal student debt for those with incomes below $125,000 a year or families making less than $250,000 a year. Those who have received federal Pell grants for college are eligible for an additional $10,000. Under the plan, 20 million are eligible for full federal student debt cancellation.
READ MORE: How to apply for student loan debt forgiveness
The announcement in August immediately became a major political issue ahead of the November midterm elections.
In a speech at the University of Delaware in late October, Biden criticized Republicans who criticized his bailout program, saying “their outrage is misplaced and hypocritical.”
READ MORE: Eligibility for student loan forgiveness reduced; here’s what you need to know
He added, “I don’t want to hear it from MAGA Republican officials,” who have been forgiven millions in debt and pandemic relief loans, naming GOP lawmakers like Vern Buchanan and Marjorie Taylor Green, who received loan forgiveness, and Sen. Ted Cruz, who called some student loan beneficiaries “slackers.”
Asked Biden: “Who the hell do they think they are?”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
.