(WJAC) — A new report out this week said nearly two million Pennsylvanians would get a total of nearly $22 billion in college debt relief from President Joe Biden’s plan to provide loan forgiveness.
"Jobs are increasingly requiring higher education, yet we continue to underfund higher education, and students really are strapped down with incredible amounts of debt," said Diana Polson, Senior Research Analyst for Keystone Research Center and the PA Budget and Policy Center. "President Biden’s plan brought this issue of student debt to the forefront, but really underlining our state’s enormous student debt crisis is the high cost of higher education."
The report found the impacts of President Biden's executive order to erase $10,000 in student loans for those making less than $125,000, and $20,000 in federal student loan debt for lower-income Pell grant recipients will reduce student debt by 1/3 in the state and that nearly three-quarters of student loan forgiveness will benefit those who earn less than $82,400 per year.
2020 graduates in Pennsylvania were graduating with an average student debt of just under $40,000, according to the study. The study also says the state has one of the lowest government higher education funding totals.
“Outstanding student loan debt has skyrocketed in Pennsylvania over the last 20 years and Pennsylvania graduates have high amounts of debt compared to those in other states,” Polson said.
But this comes after 22 republican governors, including neighboring states Ohio and Maryland, sent a letter asking the president to withdraw the plan immediately. The governors argue it ultimately “rewards the rich and punishes the poor” while expressing fears loan forgiveness will exacerbate inflation and challenging the legality of the plan being done through the 2003 heroes act, passed specifically to help those impacted by 9/11.
“The constitutionality has to do with the ultimate ability of the president to interpret a statute in a way that differs from the original intent or the original wording of the statute and you’re not supposed to be able to do that under our constitution because congress has the power of lawmaking,” said Dr. Marc Clauson, Law Professor at Cedarville University.
But Polson said the positive aspects are hard to ignore.
“The high costs of college in Pennsylvania is limiting who has access to a good education since many don’t end up pursuing higher ed because of the high costs,” Polson said. “And for those who do attend college, they often leave with crushing amounts of debt”
The U.S. Department of Education says a student loan forgiveness application should be open by early October.
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