Taxpayer bill for Biden student loan bailout could reach $600 billion, warns budget watchdog

President Joe Biden's unilateral plan to cancel up to $20,000 of student debt for certan borrowers will bust the federal budget, send historically high inflation rocketing still higher, and saddle taxpayers with up to $600 billion dollars in new debt, budget watchdogs and GOP lawmakers are warning.

A Wharton study estimates that Biden's plan will cost about $300 billion in taxpayer funds. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget put the estimated cost of the cancellation plan between $400 and $600 billion.

When factoring in the student loan payment moratorium during the pandemic, the organization estimated that Congress has spent "between $700-$900 billion on student debt cancellation and relief since the start of the pandemic."

"This announcement is gallingly reckless — with the national debt approaching record levels and inflation surging, it will make both worse," said CRFB President Maya MacGuineas. "Policymakers have already spent $300 billion on student debt relief — none of it paid for, and this would add another $400 to $600 billion, again none of it paid for. This action by the White House is completely at odds with their talk of deficit reduction. It could add twice as much to the deficit as was just saved from the Inflation Reduction Act, completely eliminating any deficit reduction and then some. With the stroke of a pen, the president undid a year's worth of work on the fiscal front.