DELAWARE – On the heels of multiple courts rejecting attempts by Republican officials to block the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan, the president visited Delaware State University, a historically black college and university where more than 75% of students received a Pell Grant.
The president provided an update on the successful launch of his student debt relief plan. “Almost nine million students” have joined the initiative, “through Studentaid.gov“said the president.
The president highlighted the transformative impact student debt relief will have on millions of working and middle-class Americans, particularly borrowers of color.
He also called out Republican members of Congress attacking his efforts to give middle-class families extra breathing space, even as these same officials had hundreds of thousands of dollars of their own pandemic relief loans forgiven by the federal government.
The president was joined by DSU President Tony Allen, Senator Tom Carper, Senator Chris Coons, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, Governor John Carney, and other community and student leaders.
While at DSU, the president highlighted the critical role HBCUs play in providing a ticket to the middle class and the work his administration is doing to strengthen HBCUs across the country.
He also discussed steps his administration is taking to fix the student loan system and make education more affordable, the White House said.
The president was introduced by a student leader at DSU, who spoke about what the president’s student debt relief plan will mean for him, his family and his community.
According to the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan:
- 40 million Americans could benefit from debt relief, and nearly 20 million could see their student debt reduced to zero.
- Of the 40 million Americans who are eligible for relief, more than 60% are Pell Grant recipients who are eligible to receive up to $20,000 in debt cancellation.
- 71% of black borrowers are Pell Grant recipients and 65% of Latino borrowers are Pell Grant recipients.
- Nearly 90% of the relief for out-of-school borrowers will go to those who earn less than $75,000 per year.
- Nearly 40% of the relief will go to borrowers who did not graduate or earn a certificate, such as welders and dental assistants.