UNITED STATES — President Joe Biden responded to the Supreme Court's rejection of his plan to forgive $430 billion in student loans by announcing new measures for providing student loan relief to Americans. The move was welcomed by Democrats and condemned by Republicans. Biden's administration will now use the Higher Education Act to pursue new measures of student loan relief, while the Education Department finalizes a program to reduce payments of borrowers to 5% of discretionary income, rather than 10%.
Biden criticized the Supreme Court, which has a conservative-leaning majority, for blocking his plan, saying the decision was a mistake, and his administration intends to pursue a different path. In response, progressive voters and lawmakers have called on Biden to use his authorities to cancel and forgive student debt immediately before payments resume after a pause.
Biden's plan for student loan forgiveness was popular with Democrats, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, which indicated that 81% of Democrats supported the idea. Progressive voters put pressure on the White House to address the student loan issue, and much of Biden's support came from the coalition of progressives who helped him win the presidential election in 2020.
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