Post Politics Now: Biden returns to Washington with news on Ukraine aid, possibly student debt
Today, President Biden returned to the White House from a vacation in Delaware. Before arriving, he announced nearly $3 billion in additional weapons and equipment for Ukraine to help continuing efforts to fend off a Russian invasion that began six months ago. Later Wednesday, Biden is expected to make news on another front: the possible cancellation of up to $10,000 in student debt for millions of American borrowers.
In primaries in New York and Florida on Tuesday, Democratic voters chose established candidates for Congress and governor in several closely watched intraparty contests, advancing well-known officeholders aligned with party leadership over rivals who sought to steer the party in a different direction. Voters in Oklahoma also went to the polls for runoff elections.
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The latest: Biden to cancel up to $10,000 in student debt for most borrowers
White House officials are planning to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for recipients of Pell Grants as part of their broader announcement on Wednesday of student debt forgiveness, four people familiar with the matter said.
The Post’s Danielle Douglas-Gabriel and Jeff Stein have the latest:
The extra debt forgiveness for Pell recipients would be in addition to the expected cancellation of up to $10,000 in student debt for most other borrowers. The White House’s plans are only expected to apply to Americans earning under $125,000 per year, or $250,000 per year for married couples who file taxes jointly, the people familiar said.Roughly 43 million federal student loan borrowers would be eligible for some level of forgiveness, including 20 million who could have their debt completely canceled, according to internal documents shared with The Washington Post. The White House estimates that 90 percent of relief will go to people earning less than $75,000.The president is also expected to announce that he will extend a pandemic-era pause on federal student loan payments that was first implemented under the Trump administration. That moratorium will now be extended until Dec. 31, or beyond the midterm elections, the people said.
You can read the developing story here.
