In August, President Biden announced a major reform to the student loan system that will affect more than 45 million Americans with student loan debt.

The changes enacted by the reform include canceling $20,000 worth of debt for Pell Grant recipients and $10,000 for non-Pell Grant recipients if they meet income requirements, reducing monthly payments to 5% of discretionary income, and extending the pause on student loans throughout the rest of 2022.

The reform came at a crucial time for those with student loans, as the changes came just days before the pause on student loans was set to expire.  Because the reform was implemented via executive action as opposed to a law passed by Congress, it allows for a future president to overturn the changes, specifically the cap on monthly payments to 5% of discretionary income.

“I believe the forgiveness program has helped many individuals who were not able to support themselves and their families,” said ROHS counselor Carrie Laurence.

While supportive, Laurence also noted that the reform does not reflect a sense of future planning.

ROHS science teacher Steven Watzman agreed with Laurence, explaining that the reform is “a band-aid fix to a bigger problem.”

Watzman sees the changes more as a “political ploy” than anything else.

Prior to Biden’s efforts at reform, student loan debt totaled $1.75 trillion dollars.

This reform cancels the debts of around 20 million people and reduces the debt of a similar number of people. While the reform helps millions of Americans in the short term, it does not address the long term effects of student loan debt.