USU students respond to Biden student loan debt executive order
*Audio clip is of USU student Trisha Wallace.
President Joe Biden signed an executive order to forgive student loans on August 24. This is one of the promises Biden made while on the campaign trail.
According to the Federal Student Aid website, only student loan borrowers who borrowed through the federal government are eligible for forgiveness.
Those who received the Pell Grant and make less than $125,000 a year individually or $250,000 a year as a married couple or head of household are also eligible to receive up to $20,000 in student loan debt relief.
Student loan borrowers who don’t fall into that category can receive up to $10,000 in student loan debt relief. According to CNBC, 37 million people are eligible to receive assistance.
The applications for this process will come out at the beginning of October. Students can access applications through studentaid.gov.
The student aid website recommends updating your contact information on their website so students can get notifications on when to apply.
The debt relief will affect all kinds of students across the state, however, Utah Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney are not in favor of this executive action.
According to Lee’s website, he says, “President Biden’s plan to cancel student debt is yet another reckless spending policy during a period of dangerous inflation.”
Romney, with similar views, said on his website, “I will continue to vigorously oppose such efforts, which would be entirely unfair to those who worked their way through college or have already paid back their loans.”
Students at Utah State University have varying opinions on the loan forgiveness policy.
Jade Bartnicki doesn’t have any student loan debt. She has paid for her school through scholarships and other means of income.
When asked how she felt about Biden’s debt relief, she said, “In a way, it could be beneficial because it can help motivate students to continue in school.”
Bartnicki also said there should be some caution in waiving student debt because you could have people take out loans who otherwise wouldn’t be able to pay them off.
Trisha Wallace, a USU student who will have some of her student debt relieved because of this program, said, “There’s a lot of happy college students out there.”
Wallace went on to say how the relief has made a positive impact on her life. She works summers as a server and has been paying off her debt from that income.
Both were asked what they thought about the debt relief policy being an executive order instead of passing through the House and the Senate.
Bartnicki said that if something goes through the House and the Senate, then it takes longer to get into policy but also allows for more opinions and time instead of just one person making a decision.
Wallace said she understood both sides.
“This time around I was one of the lucky ones, but I could also see on the flip-side how there would be people who would be upset about it,” Wallace said.
-Jack.Johnson@usu.edu
Featured photo illustration by Paige Johnson