Biden Administration releases state-by-state student debt details

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - The Biden Administration released data on Tuesday detailing how many people would be affected by the new student loan debt plan.

The information was detailed in a Zoom meeting, where members of the Biden Administration explained the impact of the plan. Speakers in the meeting reviewed where people can register for loan forgiveness, as well as the impact the plan would have in their specific states, and on narrowing the country’s racial wealth gap.

In the plan, the administration plans to grant $10,000 of student loan forgiveness to all working and middle class Americans, as well as $20,000 to students who received the need-based Pell Grant.

It’s estimated the plan will affect more than 40 million Americans, with nearly 20 million having their debt completely wiped out.

Speakers in the meeting detailed how current and former students can verify their eligibility to receive debt relief.

“I urge all of our borrowers to go to studentaid.gov/debtrelief and sign up for notifications,” said Ayanna Pressley, a Congresswoman in Massachusetts’ 7th District. “In early October, I need you to submit a simple form to affirm your eligibility, and I want you to do that as soon as possible so you can benefit from this cancellation before the end of the year.”

Another massive part of the plan is to help narrow the country’s racial wealth gap by focusing on those who need the relief most. More than 70% of Black undergraduate students who took out loans reportedly are Pell Grant recipients, as well as 65% of Latino students.

“By canceling $20,000 in student debt for our Pell recipients, we really start to get at the racial justice component of this crisis,” said Pressley. “Our Black and Brown students have to borrow at much higher rates because of policies in this country that have historically denied our families the chance to build generational wealth. So this historic action will set those borrowers on a pathway to generational wealth.”

Additionally, households in the top 5 percent of earnings will not receive any relief, while officials say nearly 90% of the relief will go to households making less than $75K per year.

In Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota alone, slightly under 750,000 Americans are estimated to be eligible for debt relief, with about 450,000 of those being Pell Grant recipients.