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What happened to Biden’s pardon plan?

Pabio December 9, 2024

President That of Joe Biden The decision to pardon his son at seven weeks of his sentence prompted some Americans to call on him to “forgive” their student debtbut canceling student loans is not that simple.

The Americans have accumulated a total of $1.6 trillion in student loans in June 2024, according to the Pew Research Center. According to the study, one in four adults under the age of 40 had student loan debt, preventing many from buying a home, starting a family and saving money. Biden has taken several steps to address the problem during his four years in office, but has faced many challenges. It managed to secure more than $166 billion in forgiveness for about 4.4 million borrowers, according to recent data from the U.S. Department of Education.

In October, the department said The Biden administration approved additional forgiveness, bringing the total relief to $175 billion in student debt relief for nearly 5 million borrowers. Some are still pushing Biden to expand that aid to more cash-strapped people before he leaves office in January.

On Wednesday, Sen. Ed Markey, Democrat of Mass., Sen. Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, and Rep. Maxine Waters, Democrat of California, sent a letter signed by 72 of their colleagues to Biden’s education secretary, calling on the department to pay off its loan debt for “students who have been defrauded by predatory schools.”

“Under the previous Trump administration, borrowers’ applications could languish for years. If their applications were reviewed, borrowers were often denied and received no relief,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is imperative that the ministry provides immediate relief to borrowers.”

Towards the end of the president-elect that of Donald Trump In her first term amid the growing COVID-19 pandemic, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos suspended student loan payments under the Higher Education Relief Opportunity Act for students.or Heroes Actwhich gave Americans respite during the pandemic. When Biden took office, his administration provided temporary relief to borrowers under the same authority.

But facing pressure from advocacy groups and indebted voters, Biden chose to go further. He looked for ways to make this relief permanent rather than asking borrowers to resume payments. All these efforts were unsuccessful. Here’s a look at how Biden tried to cancel federal student loans and the obstacles he faced during his term:

Supreme Court reacts to Biden’s debt cancellation plan

In 2023, the United States Supreme Court was closed Biden Education Secretary Miguel Cardona’s claim that the HEROES Act granted him the authority to cancel $430 billion in student debt.

The Court’s conservative majority said the Biden administration went too far when it extended full pandemic-era relief using a law that temporarily suspended loan payments following the Washington attacks. September 11 and the American military action that followed. This law was later expanded to protect borrowers affected by wars and national emergencies.

The Biden administration argued that dissenting liberal justices on the Supreme Court agreed that Cardona had the authority to update the law because it is editable. If passed, the law would have eliminated up to $20,000 in student debt for millions of Americans.

Chief Justice John Robertswho wrote the court’s majority opinion, said that although the Secretary of Education has the ability to “modify” existing provisions of the law, it is unlikely that Congress intended to allow a massive loan forgiveness program when it passed the law.

“The power to ‘amend’ laws and regulations” allows the secretary to “make modest adjustments and additions to existing provisions, not to transform them,” Roberts wrote.

The majority in power Biden v. Nebraska stopped in its tracks the president’s plan to alleviate $430 billion in student debt.

Biden proposes other ways to alleviate student debt

Biden was quick to respond to the Supreme Court’s decision, calling it a “mistake.”

“I’m not going to stop fighting to give borrowers what they need, especially those at the bottom of the economic ladder,” he told reporters. “So we have to find a new way.”

Biden then developed a plan based on the Higher Education Act of 1965, allowing Cardona to compromise, waive or release loans in certain circumstances.

Biden explained that this path, while legally sound, would take longer than offering relief through the Heroes Act. His administration has managed to provide small relief to specific groups, including people unable to repay small loans over 10 years and those employed by the government or by a non-profit organization.

Just 11 days before the 2024 general election, Biden announced a new comprehensive student debt relief plan. It would use the newly proposed rules to allow Cardona to forgive the debt of borrowers who the government says will not be able to repay their loans in the next two years if they meet certain criteria, he said. The plan would also allow borrowers facing “hardships” including medical debt, high child care costs and the economic impact of natural disasters to apply for relief.

How much student debt was canceled?

Here’s a look at the amount of outstanding student loan balances from the Department of Education. identified for forgiveness:

As of October, 1,007,940 borrowers with a collective outstanding balance of approximately $73.72 billion were identified for forgiveness under Public Service Loan Forgiveness Discharges and Approvals.
As of May, 1,035,480 borrowers with a collective balance of approximately $51.07 billion had been identified for forgiveness under the income-driven repayment plans.
According to recent data, 1,328,000 borrowers with a collective balance of approximately $20.03 billion have been identified for debt forgiveness, as part of borrower defense approvals.
571,850 borrowers with a collective outstanding balance of approximately $16.2 billion were identified for forgiveness in August under total and permanent disability discharges (through a match with the Social Security Administration and all types since July 1, 2023).
As of May, 414,020 borrowers with a collective balance of approximately $5.46 billion were identified for forgiveness under the SAVE program.

Contribute : Zachary Schermele.

Reach Rachel Barbier at [email protected] and follow her on @rachelbarber_