President Joe Biden Wednesday announced a sweeping student loan forgiveness plan, which would impact more than 45 million people around the country. There are about 500,000 people in Connecticut who could apply for the student loan forgiveness plan, with the average student loan debt in the state around $35,000.

Biden announced the plan is based on certain income thresholds. If your loan is held by the Department of Education and you make less than $125,000 per year individually, you qualify for a $10,000 loan forgiveness.

If you're a Pell Grant recipient, which is financial aid for someone with exceptional financial need, you can have up to $20,000 forgiven.

The plan also applies to current loan borrowers and dependent students.

"They've been pretty clear about this, it really does apply just to anyone who has a student loan and is under the income threshold. There aren't a lot of other qualifiers, which for a government program is really nice, as long as you're under that level," said John Rosen, econmics professor at the University of New Haven.

Nearly 45 million people across the country owe $1.6 trillion for federal student loans used for college.

The cost of this program for taxpayers is estimated to be around $300 billion. U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConell called this a slap in the face to working Americans who paid their debt.