Quick Hit:

The Biden administration has announced the cancellation of another $1.2 billion in student loans for approximately 153,000 borrowers, with Republicans, including Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy arguing the move only adds to "the burden of $559 billion in federal student loans [shifted] to the 87% of Americans who chose not to go to college, paid their way, or already responsibly paid off their loans.”

Key Details:

• The cancellation will benefit those who borrowed $12,000 or less and have been repaying for at least 10 years.
• This is the latest in a series of loan cancellation efforts by the Biden administration, which has so far—despite questions on its constitutionality—approved loan forgiveness for nearly 3.9 million borrowers.
• The move has been met with criticism from Republicans, with Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn tweeting that this is, "Yet another move that circumvents the Supreme Court’s authority and harms American taxpayers."

Diving Deeper:

The Biden Administration has canceled approximately $138 billion in student debt through executive actions. The latest cancellation will particularly benefit community college students and other borrowers with smaller loans. However, the loan cancellation scheme has not been without controversy. Critics, particularly from the Republican side, argue that the scheme is potentially unconstitutional and unfair to those who have already repaid their loans or did not attend college. They contend that the burden of the canceled loans will fall on taxpayers, effectively forcing them to shoulder the responsibility of paying off someone else's debt.