LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The debt relief plan announced by President Joe Biden would cancel a portion of student loan debt for millions of Americans.
This helps fulfill a promise he made while campaigning to become president. A promise he said will help ease inflation in the long run.
"All this means is people can finally start crawling off the mountain of debt to get on top of the rent and utilities, to finally think about buying a home or starting a family or starting a business," he said.
How it would work
The plan forgives up to $20,000 if you went to college on Pell Grants. For those who didn't, the plan will forgive up to $10,000.
To qualify, your individual income must be less than $125,000 or $250,000 if you're part of a household. The plan also extends the repayment pause, one final time, through Dec. 31.
Dan Lurie, 52, in Louisville knows what a gift it would be.
"I've had student loans since I was 18 years old. So 32 years, I've had student loans, pretty much my entire life," Lurie said.
He's had loans for decades, fully paying them off just three weeks ago, just missing Biden's announcement.
Lurie said his loan amount "ballooned all the way up to like $42,000."
He said hearing the news was a confusing moment for him.
"It was a little, it was bittersweet. I'm not gonna lie to you, though, I probably said some curse words and things like that to my wife," Lurie said.
But for others like Louisvillian Melana Hott, she said having around $20,000 in debt herself, this felt surreal.
"It did feel sort of daunting to have the student loan sitting there, and any word of student loan cancellation, I just sort of took that for what it was," she said.
Why now? What was the catalyst to make this happen?
Rachel Thomas, the senior communications advisor for policy at the White House, said this was a necessary step after the last couple of years the world has gone through.
"It's our goal to make sure that individuals aren't made worse off after the national emergency and after the pandemic," she said.
There's also some concern if this will come out of taxpayer money. Thomas said they've got a plan for that.
"The government will be getting $4 billion on average of funds coming in from those repayments, from those payments resuming, and that will offset the cost of cancellation," she said.
Lurie, although hoping for some repayment himself, is very happy for others who will benefit.
"I'm psyched for everybody that has got those loans, get rid of them, because I have a lot of friends and, and a lot of them, like, you know, have degrees and things that they're not using professionally now," Lurie said.
Thomas told WHAS11 the best way for people to check in on any unanswered questions is by visiting their student aid website.
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