Biden administration officials on Monday unveiled the details of a new plan to forgive student loan debt, suggesting that millions of Americans could start seeing debt relief as soon as this fall.
The new set of proposals, which CNN reported on Friday, have yet to be finalized. It’s President Joe Biden’s second attempt to implement broad student loan forgiveness. His first plan was struck down by the Supreme Court last summer.
The new policies, when combined with the more narrow actions already taken by the Biden administration to cancel student debt, would benefit more than 30 million Americans, according to a fact sheet provided by the White House.
That means that nearly 70% of all federal student loan borrowers would see their debt reduced or fully canceled due to Biden’s policies.
But first, the plans must be finalized – a process that could take months – and must withstand any potential legal challenges.
Biden’s new student loan forgiveness proposals could set up another fight with Republicans. Several conservative-led states and groups sued the Biden administration over the first student forgiveness program, arguing that the executive branch had overstepped its authority.
“President Biden will use every tool available to cancel student loan debt for as many borrowers as possible, no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stand in his way,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Sunday on a call with reporters.
After the Supreme Court rejected Biden’s first plan last year, the president vowed to pursue another pathway to delivering student loan debt relief. Since then, the Department of Education has been conducting a formal and lengthy process, known as negotiated rulemaking, to develop a new student…
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