Biden’s latest student loan handouts could cost as much as $750B
Breck Dumas
April 18, 2024
President Biden’s student loan bailout could cost taxpayers as much as three-quarters of a trillion dollars, new estimate finds
President Biden’s latest plan to cancel student loan debt for millions of borrowers will cost taxpayers far more than its official price tag, and it could reach as high as three-quarters of a trillion dollars, according to a new report.
The administration’s proposal, announced last week, replaces the White House’s previous attempt to deliver broad student loan forgiveness, which was struck down by the Supreme Court.
The Department of Education (DOE) estimates that the new plan, which would cancel student debt for up to 30 million borrowers, will cost around $150 billion over a decade. However, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) reported that depending on how the details shake out, it could cost three times that amount.
The CRFB says the DOE’s estimate “excludes a proposal to allow the Secretary of Education to cancel debt for those facing hardship or likely to default. Including this provision, we estimate the plan could cost $250 billion to $750 billion, depending on how the additional cancellation is designed.”
