There are many important issues taking the stage in this year’s Presidential election, and how each candidate thinks student loan debt should be handled is definitely on the list. The fact is, America’s student loan debt crisis cannot continue. American families are poised to borrow $100 billion in student loans for the 2024-25 academic year alone, and that just adds to the $1.75 trillion in total student debt we already have.
Break the numbers down further and you’ll see the average borrower owes approximately $28,950, according to the most recent data.
Here’s a rundown of the current student loan proposals suggested by the three Presidential candidates this year — President Biden, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and former President Trump.
President Joe Biden
The Biden administration has made no secret about its desires and plans to erase student loan debt for as many borrowers as possible. While an initial plan to forgive $10,000 to $20,000 in student loan debt was ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court, that hasn’t stopped the administration from forgiving billions in student loan debt in other ways.
A U.S. Department of Education press release from early April 2024 estimated that the administration has already forgiven $153 billion in federal student debt for 4.3 million borrowers.
With the current election season well underway, the administration has also rolled out another broad student debt cancellation proposal. The new plan is more toned down than the one shot down by SCOTUS, but it still aims to forgive debt for millions of borrowers who fall into a handful of categories:
- Those who owe more than they originally borrowed
- Borrowers who have been repaying undergraduate loans for 20 years or longer
- Borrowers who have been repaying graduate school loans for 25 years or longer
- Borrowers who qualify for certain student loan debt relief plans but haven’t applied.
The plan would also forgive some debt for borrowers who attended institutions that overcharged for degrees that did not provide a sufficient return.
A White House press release on the new plan outlines the President’s many other initiatives to help forgive more student debt. “President Biden will not stop fighting to cancel more student debt for as many Americans as possible, and today’s announcements are a key step forward in that effort,” the page reads.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. offers an interesting take on how we could alleviate some of the burden for families when it comes to student loan debt. First, his official campaign page recommends allowing borrowers to more easily discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy. This would benefit borrowers who made unfortunate decisions when it came to borrowing for higher education decades ago, as well as those who are experiencing undue hardship and remain unable to repay their student debt as a result.
“People should not be on the hook for a lifetime for a choice they made when they were 18 or 20 years old, a choice that was forced upon them by exorbitant higher education costs,” reads the text.
More importantly, Robert F. Kennedy believes student loan interest should be abolished, and that all federal student loans should feature 0% rates. His campaign page points to a bill introduced to Congress by Rep. Eric Swalwell called the No Student Loan Interest Act. The bill didn’t go anywhere, but Kennedy said the impact of its passage could be an “enormous relief” to people with student loan debt.
“Since the interest would be cut to zero retroactively, millions of borrowers would be immediately debt-free,” reads the text. “Millions more would see their balances and monthly payments shrink dramatically.”
Kennedy also believes in holding schools themselves more accountable for student loans in default, instead of blaming only financial institutions that offer loans. Essentially, he believes the fact lenders are left on the hook for defaults ensures schools have no incentive to keep costs down. By holding low-performing schools accountable for the debt their students rack up, higher education prices could be kept under control.
President Donald J. Trump
The re-election page for former President Donald Trump includes his stance on a range of important issues like healthcare, border control, and government corruption, but it says surprisingly little about student loans or paying for higher education.
While President, Trump implemented the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which saw the elimination of the “tax bomb” on student loan forgiveness through 2025.
Since leaving office, Trump praised the Supreme Court for overruling President Biden’s broad loan forgiveness plan in June of 2023.
President Trump has also supported income-driven repayment plans in the past, which base borrower’s student loan payments on their household income and family size.
A previous plan from the President recommended consolidating all the different income-driven repayment plans down to just one. However, controversially, he’s also proposed ended the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, and his Department of Education delayed processing thousands of Borrower Defense to Repayment claims.
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