The Department of Education says that the estimated operational costs of the Biden administration‘s student loan forgiveness plan will exceed $100 million.
In a filing with the Office of Management and Budget, the department tabbed the annual cost of running the loan forgiveness application at $101.3 million. The costs include the creation of a website form, processing applications, and administrative support for borrowers.
BIDEN STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS WILL COST $400 BILLION OVER 10 YEARS, CBO ESTIMATES
The operational expenses are separate from the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate that the loan forgiveness will cost about $400 billion over the next 10 years. According to the administration’s announcement in August, individual borrowers who make less than $125,000 or households that make $250,000 are eligible for $20,000 in forgiveness if they have received a Pell Grant, and $10,000 if they have not.
Missed this earlier:
Ed Dept disclosed in submission to OMB it expects the cost of building out the form for student debt relief, processing applications & related comms work will cost about $100M/yr. pic.twitter.com/bYzBEQ1KSB
— Michael Stratford (@mstratford) October 12, 2022
The estimated bill was revealed as the Biden administration released a preview of the application process for loan forgiveness on Tuesday that promised the application would be “short and simple” and would be available by the end of October.
The application will not require any supporting documentation, nor will it require applicants to include their Federal Student Aid ID.
The student debt relief application will be:
✅Short and simple
✅No supporting documents or FSA ID needed
✅Available in both English and Spanish, and on both mobile and desktop devices pic.twitter.com/mhOTxPLwEx— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 11, 2022
Once the loan forgiveness application opens, borrowers will have until Dec. 31, 2023, to apply to have their balance reduced.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Student loan payments and interest accumulation for federally held loans have been paused since March 2020. The Biden administration announced in August that the pause would end on Dec. 31, and monthly payments for borrowers would resume on the first of the year.
