Biden's Student Loan Plan: What To Expect As New President Takes Office

President Joe Biden is in the process of unveiling many of his plans for various policies on the first day of his presidency. One important issue is student loan forgiveness, which Biden and fellow Democrats have sought to cancel on a vast scale.

Many Democratic lawmakers have asked for canceling $50,000 in federal student debt per borrower by executive action while Biden has endorsed canceling $10,000.

For now, the executive order will be asking the Education Department for an extension of frozen loan payments. The ongoing COVID-19 payment freeze that former President Donald Trump implemented started in March 2020 and was set to end on Jan. 31, NPR noted.

This executive order from Biden will extend that policy until Sept. 30, which gives him time to enact, or come up with, any type of loan forgiveness plan. It will affect 41 million federal student loan borrowers.

"The extension of the payment pauses provides much needed relief to borrowers during the pandemic in the short-term," said Sarah Sattelmeyer, director of the Pew Charitable Trust's Student Borrower Success project.

Biden has often addressed a $10,000 loan forgiveness plan, but a final and more specific plan hasn’t been detailed. He is almost certain to provide a comprehensive plan in his first 100 days.

Social media users jumped on the issue within hours of Biden's swearing-in.

Democratic lawmakers have not given up the fight for student loan forgiveness. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Charles Schumer of New York have endorsed $50,000 in federal student loan forgiveness.