SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – According to data released by the federal Department of Education on Friday, more than 100,000 borrowers could see up to $20,000 of student debt erased under the debt forgiveness plan announced last year by Pres. Joe Biden.
The forgiveness plan announced in August would cancel $10,000 in federal student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 or households with less than $250,000. Pell Grant recipients, who typically demonstrate more financial need, would get an additional $10,000 forgiven.
The one-time forgiveness plan is being challenged by a lawsuits from Republicans and conservative groups which argue the president can’t cancel the debt on his own. Later this month, the conservative-led Supreme Court will decide if the president has the power to forgive the debts.
Ahead of that case, the Education Department released a national breakdown detailing how many borrowers either applied for cancellation or were automatically eligible for forgiveness.
In the Upstate, an estimated 283,300 borrowers were determined to be eligible for forgiveness. More than half of those, 172,200, were either deemed automatically eligible for forgiveness and 110,300 applications for forgiveness were fully approved and sent to loan servicers for discharge before courts blocked relief.
In Western North Carolina, an estimated 199,200 borrowers were eligible for forgiveness, and 83,100 applications for relief had been approved and sent to loan servicers for discharge.
Nationally an estimated 43 million borrowers are eligible for the one-time cancellation, and 26 million either applied for it or were automatically found to be eligible before the program was stopped.
