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Student Loan Relief Will Cost Billions

Biden is expected to announce the program tomorrow. Depending on the amount forgiven and income limits, it may cost the federal government between $300 billion and $980 billion.

By Nancy Cook | August 23, 2022 at 06:19 PM
Photographer: Paul Morigi/Getty Images North America

Forgiving student loan debt will cost between $300 billion and $980 billion over 10 years, according to a new analysis, with the majority of relief going toward borrowers in the top 60 percent of earners.

The Penn Wharton Budget Model estimate was released today ahead of President Joe Biden’s long-anticipated decision, expected to come tomorrow, on whether to forgive some student loan debt. White House officials have been trying to combat critiques that such a move would add to rampant inflation—which has become a political liability for Biden and his fellow Democrats.

The Penn Wharton budget group, based out of the University of Pennsylvania and run by a former top Treasury official under Republican President George W. Bush, is influential with key Capitol Hill lawmakers, including Democratic Senator Joe Manchin. The group estimates that between 69 percent and 73 percent of any forgiven debt would accrue to households that rank in the top 60 percent of the U.S.’s income distribution.

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