President Joe Biden arrives at Los Angeles International Airport, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. announced Wednesday that his administration was automatically canceling federal student loans for nearly 153,000 borrowers, putting the spotlight on his debt cancellation efforts as he ramps up his reelection campaign.The administration began sending email notifications on Wednesday to some of the borrowers who will benefit from what the White House has called the SAVE program.
The first round of forgiveness from the SAVE plan will clear $1.2 billion in loans. The borrowers will get emails with a message from Biden notifying them that “all or a portion of your federal student loans will be forgiven because you qualify for early loan forgiveness under my Administration’s SAVE Plan.”
Biden in the email writes he has heard from “countless people who have told me that relieving the burden of their student loan debt will allow them to support themselves and their families, buy their first home, start a small business, and move forward with life plans they’ve put on hold.
Borrowers are eligible for cancellation if they are enrolled in the SAVE plan, originally borrowed $12,000 or less to attend college and have made at least 10 years of payments. Those who took out more than $12,000 will be eligible for cancellation but on a longer timeline. For each $1,000 borrowed beyond $12,000, it adds an additional year of payments on top of 10 years.