By Imani Racine
As Americans wait for the Joe Biden Administration to fulfill its campaign promises, the fight for student loan forgiveness so far has been an uphill battle.
President Joe Biden promised during his run for office that he would relieve student loan debt for millions of Americans. Since being in office he has stated this loan forgiveness will be $10,000 per borrower.
Student loan payments are currently being deferred until Sept. 30 due to the ongoing pandemic and financial crisis. While many people have pushed for the loan forgiveness to be up to $50,000, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Elizabeth Warren, Biden has made it clear that isn’t part of his plan.
“I will not make that happen,” Biden said regarding $50,000 loan forgiveness during a Presidential Town Hall on Feb. 16. His refusal of the idea sparked outrage among current and former students who feel like the proposed $10,000 loan forgiveness simply isn’t enough.
“I don’t know if he genuinely wants to help lower class student debt or if he just wants to put on the facade that he cares enough,” Rayna Jackson, a junior at Clark Atlanta University said.
This loan forgiveness would apply to students who borrowed federal student loans. This relief would not be awarded to those who attend private colleges and those who borrowed from private lenders. Biden has promised that those with private loans will be able to discharge them in bankruptcy, an idea that was first proposed during the Obama-Biden administration.
“I feel like [$10,000] loan forgiveness is too specific because people are in different kinds of debt,” Mikyle Dixon, a junior at Morehouse College said. “If he did it by percentage it would be better.”
Biden is also planning to make higher education more affordable and accessible to marginalized communities. During his campaign run, he proposed a plan to make private HBCU’s, along with other public colleges and universities, free for those who make less than $125,000 annually.
He also vowed to invest over $70 billion into HBCU’s and other minority-serving institutions. $18 billion of this investment will go into grants, allowing students to have two years of tuition completely covered.
However, his lack of action so far during his presidency has people uncertain if these changes will actually become a reality.
“I don’t think he’s going to fulfill his promise,” Jackson said. “He said what he said to get elected”
Along with loan forgiveness, Biden has also vowed to make student loan repayment plans more flexible. Individuals making $25,000 or less annually wouldn’t have to make repayments on their federal loans. Those who don’t meet that requirement would only have to pay 5% of their income over $25,000.
Legislation passed in Congress’s latest stimulus package made any student loan relief tax-free, which some see as a sign that widespread student debt relief may be coming soon. The United States officially passed $1.7 trillion in student debt in late 2020.