Vice President Kamala Harris recently highlighted the efforts of the Biden-Harris administration in eliminating student loan debt for millions of borrowers. Speaking at the American Federation of Teachers, Harris announced that the administration has forgiven student loan debt for nearly 5 million Americans, including teachers and other public servants. She warned that Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and other federal student debt relief initiatives are in danger due to Republican opposition and the potential for a rollback or repeal of these programs under a Trump presidency.
The Biden-Harris administration has approved over $170 billion in student loan forgiveness in the last four years, despite the initial student debt relief plan proposed by President Biden being struck down by the Supreme Court. The relief includes student loan forgiveness through various programs, such as the IDR Account Adjustment, loan forgiveness for borrowers misled by schools, student loan discharges for those with medical impairments, and debt relief under the SAVE plan. Close to five million borrowers have benefited from these initiatives.
Harris focused on the success of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program in her speech, which can eliminate federal student loan debt after 120 qualifying payments over 10 years for borrowers working in public service jobs. Harris shared a story of a teacher in Philadelphia who had been paying off student loans for 20 years and still owed $40,000, but the debt was forgiven under the PSLF program. Prior to 2021, PSLF had a dismal approval rate, but temporary waivers and new regulations implemented last year have significantly increased the success rate for loan forgiveness.
Harris expressed concerns that conservative plans, such as Project 2025, could lead to the repeal of student loan forgiveness programs if former President Trump returns to office. Project 2025 aims to undo several loan forgiveness plans, including PSLF, that were enacted on a bipartisan basis before President Biden took office. Republican-led lawsuits have already posed threats to student loan forgiveness and repayment plans, with a federal appeals court recently blocking President Biden’s new SAVE plan, which lowers payments and provides pathways to eventual student loan forgiveness for millions of borrowers.
In response to legal challenges, the Education Department has placed millions of borrowers into an administrative forbearance, suspending payments and interest but not counting towards student loan forgiveness for IDR or PSLF. This temporary order has caused chaos and uncertainty among federal student loan borrowers, leaving many confused and frustrated. The Education Department has also temporarily taken down online applications for IDR and Direct loan consolidation to comply with the court order. Despite these challenges, the Biden-Harris administration continues to prioritize student loan forgiveness and relief initiatives in the face of opposition.
