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See the sources for this fact-check New college graduates had just moved their tassels from one side to the other when they were hit with a cold reality check about student loans. It came in this attack from the left on President Joe Biden: \"Biden just dropped student debt cancellation down to zero. That’s right, the Biden administration has decided to cancel $0 in student debt.\" The claim was made May 24 in a tweet that was widely shared on Instagram, including in a post that was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) Biden did not include student debt forgiveness, one of his campaign promises, in his 2022 federal budget proposal. But he is still pursuing forgiveness options, including determining whether it would be legal to do so through an executive order and calling on Congress to act. The White House has asked Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to review the president’s legal authority to cancel up to $50,000 in student debt per borrower. Biden promised to forgive student debt The critical tweet came from the Gravel Institute, whose \"mission is to build the institutions the left needs to win.\" It is named for Democrat Mike Gravel, the former Alaska senator and presidential candidate. The tweet was followed by another stating that Biden took student loan cancellation out of his budget because Congress won\'t pass it — an apparent reference to the difficulty of getting Republican support for such legislation in the Senate. Hopes for relief are high because of the rise in student debt and Biden’s pledge to tackle it. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on August 29, 2024 in a post on Instagram “BREAKING: Illegal Aliens in San Diego, California, tried to hijack 2 school buses filled with children.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Madison Czopek • September 4, 2024 Student loan debt exceeded $1.73 trillion in the first quarter of 2021, nearly double what it was 10 years earlier, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The median amount of education debt in 2020 among those with any outstanding debt for their own education was between $20,000 and $24,999, according to a Federal Reserve Board survey. During the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden promised \"for debt-holders earning up to $125,000\" to \"forgive all undergraduate tuition-related federal student debt\" from two- and four-year public colleges and universities; and from private historically Black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions. He also pledged to take other steps to help student borrowers. No move yet to erase student debt Less than a month after Biden took office, a widely shared Facebook post claimed that Biden \"really did wipe away\" student loan debt. We rated it False. He extended a pause on federal student loan payments, but did not cancel debt. Three days before the Gravel Institute’s tweet, the Washington Post reported that student loan debt forgiveness was expected to be left out of Biden’s 2022 federal budget proposal, according to four people who spoke on condition of anonymity. Biden’s budget was released May 28 and contained no mention of student loans. But for student debt forgiveness, Biden is also pursuing a possible executive order and has expressed desire for Congress to take action. He has also drawn limits. New York Times columnist David Brooks recently interviewed Biden and described him as suspicious of generous college debt forgiveness plans suggested by the left. \"The idea that you go to Penn and you’re paying a total of 70,000 bucks a year and the public should pay for that? I don’t agree,\" Biden said, referring to the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League school. Bankrate said the news of Biden’s budget plan led \"experts to believe that cancellation may not happen anytime soon.\" White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in April: \"The President continues to call on Congress to cancel $10,000 in debt for student loan borrowers. That’s something Congress could take an action on and he’d be happy to sign. We’re still taking a closer look at our options on student loans.\" Our ruling A widely shared social media post claimed: \"The Biden administration has decided to cancel $0 in student debt.\" Biden’s 2022 federal budget proposal does not include a provision for student debt forgiveness. But Biden is still considering options, including an executive order, for student debt forgiveness. For a statement that contains only an element of truth, our rating is Mostly False. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Instagram, post, May 25, 2021 Twitter, Gravel Institute tweet, May 24, 2021 PolitiFact, \"Joe Biden has not canceled student loan debt,\" Feb. 4, 2021 Washington Post, \"White House budget plan set to leave out some health care proposals from campaign,\" May 21, 2021 Mother Jones, \"Joe Biden Has Publicly Trashed Student Debt Forgiveness. But Behind the Scenes, He’s Made Democrats Hopeful,\" May 28, 2021 CNBC, \"Biden asks Education secretary to see if he can legally cancel student debt,\" April 1, 2021 The White House, \"Budget of the U.S. Government — fiscal year 2022\" May 28, 2021 The White House, \"Fact Sheet: The President’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2022,\" May 28, 2021 Bankrate, \"Federal student loan forgiveness update: See where the latest policies and proposals stand,\" May 26, 2021 Fox News, \"White House investigating Biden\'s authority to cancel student debt,\" April 1, 2021 New York Times, \"Has Biden Changed? He Tells Us,\" May 20, 2021 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Tom Kertscher slide 4 to 6 of 15 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 19, 2023 in an Instagram post: A wind turbine must “spin continually for over four years just to replace the energy it took to manufacture it.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • July 28, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on July 15, 2023 in un video en TikTok: \"Biden elimina ‘tráfico sexual de menores’ como una de las prioridades del Departamento de Justicia de su gobierno”. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • July 25, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 17, 2023 in an Instagram post: \"Florida to ban mRNA vaccines as credible evidence of biological weapons.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • July 18, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 26, 2023 in a Facebook post: Video suggests Canada wildfires were deliberately set to advance “smart cities” push. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 30, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 26, 2023 in a video: Women vaccinated against COVID-19 face \"unknown side effects that could perpetually go down through the lineage\" to their children. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 29, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 25, 2023 in a Facebook post: As of Aug. 25, \"Luis Rubiales has resigned as the president of the Spanish Football Federation.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 29, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 24, 2023 in an Instagram post: The World Health Organization said there is \"a possible causal relationship\" between COVID-19 vaccines and multiple sclerosis. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 28, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 9, 2023 in a Facebook post: Video shows military planes over Nashville \"dispersing materials into the atmosphere\" for geoengineering. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 23, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 20, 2023 in a Facebook post: “Official statement — Putin assassinated in the Kremlin!” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Tom Kertscher • August 22, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 8, 2023 in a Facebook post: \"The federal government has just declared a major food shortage emergency\" in six states. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 16, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Steve Kirsch stated on August 8, 2023 in a blog post: COVID-19 vaccines have killed 676,000 Americans. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Tom Kertscher • August 14, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 6, 2023 in a viral image: California passed a law “reducing penalties for oral, anal sex with willing children.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 9, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on June 22, 2023 in a post: A new law allows people to permanently erase unpaid debt older than two years from their credit records. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 1, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 28, 2023 in a video: “Skin cancer is a relatively new phenomenon in the last 60 years or so.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 1, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on July 26, 2023 in a Facebook post: Says Bill Gates said, “We’re taking things that are genetically modified organisms, and we’re injecting them into little kids’ arms” in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • July 31, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 19, 2023 in an Instagram post: A wind turbine must “spin continually for over four years just to replace the energy it took to manufacture it.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • July 28, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on July 15, 2023 in un video en TikTok: \"Biden elimina ‘tráfico sexual de menores’ como una de las prioridades del Departamento de Justicia de su gobierno”. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • July 25, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on July 17, 2023 in an Instagram post: \"Florida to ban mRNA vaccines as credible evidence of biological weapons.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • July 18, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 26, 2023 in a Facebook post: Video suggests Canada wildfires were deliberately set to advance “smart cities” push. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 30, 2023 ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/322c808c00e73c217d17772ddd5a0eb5.jpg\\") ![](\\" Instagram_logo_2016.svg/8b142c91ebe468a84a192e6df2b7b994.jpg\\") Instagram posts stated on August 26, 2023 in a video: Women vaccinated against COVID-19 face \"unknown side effects that could perpetually go down through the lineage\" to their children. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 29, 2023 ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 25, 2023 in a Facebook post: As of Aug. 25, \"Luis Rubiales has resigned as the president of the Spanish Football Federation.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Tom Kertscher • August 29, 2023 ### Student debt forgiveness is not in Biden’s 2022 budget, but it’s still in play * ![](\\" ![](\\" TikTok posts stated on September 22, 2024 in una publicación enTikTok: En el sur de Filadelfia, la campaña de Kamala Harris “está pagando a la gente $700 por semana para viajar y asistir a todos sus eventos”. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 25, 2024 in an Instagram post: Hurricane Helene was the product of intentional weather modification. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Loreben Tuquero • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 25, 2024 in a post: Video shows footage of Hurricane Helene ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Grace Abels • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Vote No on 3 stated on September 7, 2024 in a TV ad: Florida’s Amendment 3 is “the monopoly amendment.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Jared Moskowitz stated on September 19, 2024 in una audiencia en la Cámara de Representantes: “El Proyecto 2025 quiere deshacerse de la NOAA” y del Servicio Nacional de Meteorología. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Maria Briceño • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Social Media stated on September 24, 2024 in social media posts: Vice President Kamala Harris responded, “Next question please,” when asked about the economy during an Aug. 29 CNN interview. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Sofia Ahmed • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 18, 2024 in a Threads post: Melania Trump “was an escort.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 23, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Serena Williams reportedly passes away following tragic car crash in Texas.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 25, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Elon Musk silences Taylor Swift: Shocking ban wipes out 1 million followers and costs her a staggering $72 million!” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 27, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Jared Moskowitz stated on September 19, 2024 in a House hearing: “Project 2025 wants to get rid of NOAA” and the National Weather Service. ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Amy Sherman • September 26, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. 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The Biden administration has decided to cancel 0 in student debt