White House deliberating income limits for student loan relief, sources say

According to the Washington Post, sources close to President Joe Biden reported this week that the White House is currently weighing whether to place income limits on federal student loan relief or forgiveness recipients, and what those limits would be.

In a step toward delivering on a long-awaited campaign promise, the Post reports the Biden administration is considering offering some student loan relief to those who need it most, and cutting off aid to people who make the most money.

While borrowers have benefited from a long pause in student loan repayments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration is under mounting pressure to deliver legislation on the issue of education debt.

The president signaled last week he was nearing a decision on student debt in a closed-door meeting with the Hispanic Caucus.

“During a lengthy meeting with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Monday, Biden signaled multiple times that he was prepared not only to extend the current moratorium but to potentially take executive actions canceling some of the debt altogether, according to two House members in attendance and two aides briefed on the meeting’s contents,” the Post reported.

The administration is reportedly considering executive action on student loans in order to deliver on the promise before the November midterm elections.

Insiders say the current amounts being discussed are relief for those who “make less than either $125,000 or $150,000 as individual filers the previous year, the people said. That plan would set the threshold at around $250,000 or $300,000 for couples who file their taxes jointly.”

While the campaign promise was originally to deliver $10,000 in student debt relief to borrowers, the president has said not to expect relief over $50,000 per borrower.