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Let no one say that President Joe Biden has failed to follow through on campaign promises about student loan debt relief. By any fair measure, the incumbent Democrat has made it one of his administration’s key domestic policy goals.
That said, overcoming opposition from Republicans and their allies has consistently posed real challenges.
Circling back to our earlier coverage, it was last year, for example, Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices, responding to a Republican-backed lawsuit, effectively killed Biden’s $400 billion plan to cancel or reduce federal student loan debts for millions of Americans.
In the months that followed, the Democratic White House continued to take additional and incremental steps to assist those with crushing student loan debts, including launching the SAVE Repayment Plan in January — which Republican state attorneys general are also fighting to tear down.
As NBC News reported, Biden traveled to Madison, Wisconsin, yesterday to announce revised plans to cancel federal student debt, along with other actions intended to benefit millions of Americans.
Biden’s new plans are aimed at canceling runaway interest for millions of borrowers; nullifying debt for those who are eligible for but not yet participating in certain forgiveness programs, such as those in public service who’ve been paying off their loans for 10 years or more; borrowers of undergraduate or graduate loans who started paying off loans at least 20 or 25 years ago, respectively; borrowers enrolled in low financial value programs; and those experiencing hardships that prevent them from making loan payments.
“This relief can be life-changing,” Biden said. “Folks, I will never stop to deliver student debt relief on hard-working Americans, and it’s only in the interest of America that we do it. And again, it’s for the good of our economy that’s growing stronger and stronger — and it is. By freeing millions of Americans from this crushing debt ... it means they can finally get on with their lives, instead of their lives being put on hold.”
The New York Times and Vox had worthwhile explainers on the latest White House initiative, and readers wondering whether they’d benefit directly from the new policies should definitely check them out.
But it’s worth considering the expected pushback from the usual suspects. The Associated Press reported after Biden’s event:
The Job Creators Network, a conservative advocacy group that challenged Biden’s original plan, is considering legal action. ... The organization is backed by Bernie Marcus, a Republican donor who is also hosting a fundraiser for Trump in Atlanta on Wednesday. Trump described Biden’s debt relief initiative as an “election-enhancing money grab” two years ago.
As the 2024 election cycle advances, there’s no shortage of contrast issues for voters — and student loan debt relief is high on the list.
In the 2020 elections cycle, exit polling showed Biden defeating then-incumbent Donald Trump by a wide margin among voters under the age of 30. More recent polling has been all over the place, but the latest survey data nevertheless suggests the Democrat is struggling to duplicate his success among these younger voters in 2024.
Will the focus on student loan debt help make a difference for Biden, especially as Republicans and their allies push back aggressively in the opposite direction? Watch this space.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.