For millions of borrowers, the nearly three-and-a-half-year pause on student loan payments came as a relief.Video above: These states have the highest student loan paymentsDuring the 2020 presidential campaign, then-candidate Joe Biden pledged a student loan forgiveness plan. Biden’s proposal came as Congress approved and Donald Trump signed the CARES Act, which paused payments and interest for borrowers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pause was extended multiple times before ending in September 2023.A year after taking office, Biden revealed his plan to cancel the debt of $10,000 per borrower and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. The loan forgiveness was limited to Americans earning under $125,000 per year or $250,000 for married couples. The relief was also capped at the amount of a borrower’s outstanding eligible debt.Biden’s plan came from powers the Department of Education said was allowed under the 2003 HEROES Act. The law was adopted with overwhelming bipartisan support at a time when U.S. forces were fighting two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It gives the Education secretary authority to waive rules relating to student financial aid programs in times or war or national emergency. Former President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in 2020 because of the pandemic, and it remains in effect. But neither Trump nor Biden, until the president’s announcement on Wednesday, had tried to wipe out so much student debt at one time.However, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the debt cancellation, saying the administration overreached the powers of the HEROES Act. Video above: This tool will help you manage student loan debtAfter the high court struck down his original plan, Biden came up with essentially a Plan B. The new plan uses a different legal justification – the Higher Education Act, which allows the secretary of education to waive student loan debt in certain cases.The Education Department has been going through a federal rulemaking process to clarify how the secretary can invoke that authority. A federal judge in Georgia issued a court order in September, temporarily blocking Biden’s “Plan B.”Biden has since moved forward with canceling student loans at a smaller scale: One such student loan cancellation program for public workers granted relief to more than 1 million Americans — up from just 7,000 who were approved before it was updated by the Biden administration two years ago.President Joe Biden announced the milestone on Oct. 17, saying his administration restored a promise to America’s teachers, firefighters, nurses and other public servants. He celebrated it even as his broader student loan plans remain halted by courts following legal challenges by Republican-led states.As Biden begins to wrap up his final months in office, where do his potential successors stand on the issue of student loan forgiveness?As Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris has been supportive of his efforts to cancel student loan debt. Her campaign website says she will continue working to ease student loan debt.Trump, meanwhile, has said the Biden forgiveness plan was “unfair.” Two years before becoming the GOP vice presidential pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance called on Republicans to fight any push toward student loan forgiveness with “every ounce of our energy and power.”The Associated Press contributed to this report.
For millions of borrowers, the nearly three-and-a-half-year pause on student loan payments came as a relief.
Video above: These states have the highest student loan payments
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During the 2020 presidential campaign, then-candidate Joe Biden pledged a student loan forgiveness plan. Biden’s proposal came as Congress approved and Donald Trump signed the CARES Act, which paused payments and interest for borrowers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pause was extended multiple times before ending in September 2023.
A year after taking office, Biden revealed his plan to cancel the debt of $10,000 per borrower and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. The loan forgiveness was limited to Americans earning under $125,000 per year or $250,000 for married couples. The relief was also capped at the amount of a borrower’s outstanding eligible debt.
Biden’s plan came from powers the Department of Education said was allowed under the 2003 HEROES Act. The law was adopted with overwhelming bipartisan support at a time when U.S. forces were fighting two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
It gives the Education secretary authority to waive rules relating to student financial aid programs in times or war or national emergency. Former President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in 2020 because of the pandemic, and it remains in effect. But neither Trump nor Biden, until the president’s announcement on Wednesday, had tried to wipe out so much student debt at one time.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the debt cancellation, saying the administration overreached the powers of the HEROES Act.
Video above: This tool will help you manage student loan debt
After the high court struck down his original plan, Biden came up with essentially a Plan B. The new plan uses a different legal justification – the Higher Education Act, which allows the secretary of education to waive student loan debt in certain cases.
The Education Department has been going through a federal rulemaking process to clarify how the secretary can invoke that authority. A federal judge in Georgia issued a court order in September, temporarily blocking Biden’s “Plan B.”
Biden has since moved forward with canceling student loans at a smaller scale: One such student loan cancellation program for public workers granted relief to more than 1 million Americans — up from just 7,000 who were approved before it was updated by the Biden administration two years ago.
President Joe Biden announced the milestone on Oct. 17, saying his administration restored a promise to America’s teachers, firefighters, nurses and other public servants. He celebrated it even as his broader student loan plans remain halted by courts following legal challenges by Republican-led states.
As Biden begins to wrap up his final months in office, where do his potential successors stand on the issue of student loan forgiveness?
As Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris has been supportive of his efforts to cancel student loan debt. Her campaign website says she will continue working to ease student loan debt.
Trump, meanwhile, has said the Biden forgiveness plan was “unfair.” Two years before becoming the GOP vice presidential pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance called on Republicans to fight any push toward student loan forgiveness with “every ounce of our energy and power.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
