{"id":149465,"date":"2022-10-19T08:09:05","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T15:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=149465"},"modified":"2022-10-19T08:09:05","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T15:09:05","slug":"president-biden-on-the-student-debt-relief-portal-beta-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=149465","title":{"rendered":"President Biden on the Student Debt Relief Portal Beta Test"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Sorry I\u2019m late, folks.  Thank you very much for being here.  Good afternoon to everyone else.  Less than eight weeks ago, I announced my administration\u2019s plan to forgive up to $10,000 in federal student debt and up to $20,000 if you received a Pell Grant for folks earning less than $125,000 a year. <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SNthcKKd-Cg\" title=\"President Biden Delivers an Update on the Student Debt Relief Portal Beta Test\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Today, I\u2019m announcing how millions \u2014 millions of people, working- and middle-class folks, can apply for \u2014 to get this relief.  And it\u2019s simple, and it\u2019s now.  It\u2019s easy.  It\u2019s fast. <\/p>\n<p>At the end of my remarks, I\u2019m going to officially launch this new ap- \u2014 new application site at StudentAid.gov.  StudentAid.gov. <\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ll be able to fill out your name, Social Security number, date of birth, and contact information.  No forms to upload.  No special log-in to remember.  It\u2019s available in English and in Spanish, on desktop and mobile. <\/p>\n<p>It takes less than five minutes.  And if you have any questions, you follow up \u2014 we will be able to follow up with you. <\/p>\n<p>This is a gamechanger for millions of Americans.  We\u2019re getting moving.  And it took an incredible amount of effort to get this website done in such a short time. <\/p>\n<p>I want to thank the Secretary of Education \u2014 there he is \u2014 Secretary of Education Cardona, who is here with me today.  He and his team led a talented group of data scientists and engineers across the federal government and built and tested and launched this new application in just weeks. <\/p>\n<p>And the Secretary insisted that it be test- \u2014 that it had to be tested over the weekend.  It landed and handled more than 8 million applications without a glitch or any difficulty.  <\/p>\n<p>We had over 10,000 people contact the White House and be \u2014 either send us letters or calls thanking us.<\/p>\n<p>It means more than 8 million Americans are starting this week on their way to receiving a lifechanging relief that they\u2019re looking for. <\/p>\n<p>It started today, with millions more who are going to have the opportunity to do it as well. <\/p>\n<p>As millions of people fill out the application, we\u2019re going to make sure the system continues to work as smoothly as possible so that we can deliver student loan relief for millions of Americans as quickly and as efficiently as possible. <\/p>\n<p>My commitment was: If elected President, I was going to make government work to deliver for the people.  This \u2014 this rollout keeps that commitment, just as I\u2019m keeping my commitment to relieve student debt as borrowers recover from this economic crisis caused by the once-in-a-lifetime pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>And I hope, God forbid \u2014 I say \u201conce-in-a-lifetime,\u201d and that gets me to another issue.  We need more funding for this.  But at any rate \u2014 for dealing with future pandemics.<\/p>\n<p>But I want to be clear who\u2019s going to benefit the most: working people, the middle class.  If you earn less than $125,000 a year, you\u2019ll get up to $10,000 knocked off your student debt.  If you earn less than $125,000 a year and you received a Pell Grant, you\u2019ll get up to an additional $10,000 knocked off that debt \u2014 so $20,000 in relief. <\/p>\n<p>In total, more than 40 million Americans can stand to benefit from this relief, and about 90 percent \u2014 90 percent of that relief is going to go people making less than $75,000 a year. <\/p>\n<p>Let me be clear: Not a dime will go to those in the top 5 percent of the income bracket.  Period.  <\/p>\n<p>Now, let\u2019s talk about who is against helping millions of hardworking middle-class Americans.  Republican members of Congress and Republican governors are trying to do everything they can to deny this relief, even to their own constituents. <\/p>\n<p>As soon as I announced my administration\u2019s student debt plan, they started attacking it, saying all kinds of things.  Their outrage is wrong and it\u2019s hypocritical. <\/p>\n<p>I will never apologize for helping working Americans and middle-class people as they recover from the pandemic, especially not the same Republicans who voted for a $2 trillion tax cut in the last administration \u2014 mainly benefitting the wealthiest Americans and the largest corporations \u2014 and didn\u2019t pay for a penny of it and racked up a deficit.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t want to hear from Republican officials again who heard \u2014 who had hundreds of thousands of dollars \u2014 even millions of dollars \u2014 in pandemic relief loans \u2014 the PPP loans \u2014 but who now attack the working- and middle-class Americans who are getting relief.  And these are members of Congress who received those loans.  They didn\u2019t do anything wrong, but they qualified.  They qualified for up to, in one case, $2 million.<\/p>\n<p>And despite what the Republican officials say, we can afford \u2014 we\u2019re able to afford this student loan relief.  It\u2019s because of our historic deficit reduction that Republicans voted against. <\/p>\n<p>On my watch, the deficit fell by $350 billion last year, and we\u2019re on track to reduce it by $1 trillion this fiscal year. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re also set to reduce it another $300 billion over the next 10 years because of the Medicaid [Medicare] being able to negotiate drug prices.<\/p>\n<p>But that\u2019s not all.  In relieving student debt, we\u2019re also resuming student loan programs \u2014 a student loan program that we paused during the pandemic. <\/p>\n<p>Come January, folks have to start to repay their student loans if they qualify \u2014 I mean, if they don\u2019t qualify for this relief.  That means billions of dollars a year will start coming into the U.S. Treasury.  My administration\u2019s plan is economically responsible \u2014 an economically responsible course to ensure a smooth transition to repaying and preventing unnecessary defaults. <\/p>\n<p>And it also is focused on going after fraudsters who call borrowers \u2014 you\u2019re going to receive these calls; I tell anybody who has \u2014 who\u2019s qualifying for these loans, or trying to qualify for these loans.  If you get a call pretending they\u2019re from the government trying to help you with your loans, let\u2019s be clear: Hang up.  You never have to pay for any federal help from the Student Loan Program. <\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re going to get calls, \u201cIf you do this, it\u2019ll pay that.  You can get relief.\u201d  That\u2019s fraud. <\/p>\n<p>If you get any questionable calls, please tell us by going to ReportFraud \u2014 ReportFraud \u2014 d-o-t \u2014 FTC.gov. [ReportFraud.FTC.gov]<\/p>\n<p>My message to fraudsters looking to cheat the American people is: Don\u2019t do it.  We\u2019re going to hold you accountable.<\/p>\n<p>Let me close with this: Today marks a big step, among others, that my administration is taking to make education a ticket to the middle class that folks can actually afford.  But don\u2019t take my word for it. <\/p>\n<p>As I said, we\u2019ve received nearly 10,000 letters from across the country.  A woman in Colorado wrote.  She grew up, she said, on school lunch and food stamp programs, started working at age 13, and on her way to college, to a good job, until she was injured in an accident and couldn\u2019t find full-time work.  She said her student loan debt was weighing her down, but now she can, quote, \u201cbreathe again.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>A mom in California wrote how she received a Pell Grant to become a nurse.  She just had her fourth child.  And the stress of the pandemic pulls the weight of the student loans on her even more heavily, making everyday life really hard.  But now she says that weight is lifted, making life easier for her.<\/p>\n<p>And something we don\u2019t talk about very much: A lot of seniors still carry the burden of student debt, whether for themselves or for their children and grandchildren.  A retiree in Oregon wrote how she never missed a payment, and says this relief, quote, \u201cmeans the world\u201d to her.  That\u2019s what today\u2019s announcement is about. <\/p>\n<p>So, let\u2019s get started.  The new student loan application is now open. <\/p>\n<p>If you have federal student debt, please visit StudentAid.gov.  It\u2019s easy, simple, and fast. <\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s a new day for millions of Americans all across our nation. <\/p>\n<p>May God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.  Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, a question about inflation.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  If it\u2019s on this \u2014 if it\u2019s on this, I\u2019m happy to answer the question.<\/p>\n<p>Q    Are you concerned that litigation could get in the way of this program?  (Inaudible.)<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Yes, it \u2014 well, that\u2019s what\u2019s going on right now.  Litigation is underway.  And I don\u2019t think our \u2014 our legi- \u2014 our legal judgment is that it won\u2019t.  But they\u2019re trying to stop it.  (Inaudible.)<\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Q    How many people have already applied through this beta testing website, do you know?<\/p>\n<p>SECRETARY CARDONA:  Over 8 million people.<\/p>\n<p>Q    And will people who have privately held loans \u2014 will they at some point become eligible for this forgiveness?  Because they no longer are.<\/p>\n<p>SECRETARY CARDONA:  We are working on pathways there to support those, but we\u2019re moving as quickly as possible to provide relief to as many people as possible. <\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Sorry I\u2019m late, folks. Thank you very much for being here. Good afternoon to everyone else. Less than eight weeks ago, I announced my administration\u2019s plan to forgive up to $10,000 in federal student debt and up to $20,000 if you received a Pell Grant for folks earning less than $125,000 a year. Today, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":149466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-149465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Fullscreen-capture-10192022-80648-AM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=149465"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149465\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":149467,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149465\/revisions\/149467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/149466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=149465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=149465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=149465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}