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With Democrats in control of the White House and Congress, forgiving student debt is a better chance to make millions of Americans a reality.
Yet there are obstacles.
Will debt cancellation be a priority for Biden’s young government, which comes amid strife and unprecedented health and economic crises?
“They’ve probably created a hierarchy of legislation that they consider important,” said Richard Semiatin, an assistant professor at the American University. “It’s unlikely to be on the first level.”
In the campaign, Joe Biden, the elected president, promised to forgive $ 10,000 student debt for all borrowers in response to the economic pain caused by the pandemic, and the rest of the loans for those who attended public colleges or historically black colleges and universities has. earn less than $ 125,000 a year.
“We expect him to keep his promise,” said Persis Yu, director of the Student Loan Assistance Project at the National Consumer Law Center, a nonprofit advocacy group.
A recent survey found that 58% of registered voters support the cancellation of student debt.
Administrative or legislative forgiveness?
Some Democratic senators are pushing Biden to bypass Congress and cancel the debt on his own.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Recently described student debt relief as ‘the most effective economic stimulus available through executive action’. Meanwhile, Senate Top Democrat Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., is asking Biden to forgive $ 50,000 per borrower on the first day of his presidency. “All you need is a pen stain,” Schumer said in December. “You do not need Congress.”
Not everyone agrees. Experts believe Biden is likely to face court proceedings if he wants to cancel the debt on his own.
And now that the Democrats have secured a majority in Congress, the legislative path may seem more hopeful. Yet there is a long way to go from hopefuls to lenders who see their debt reduced or eliminated.
Even with the two Senate seats that Democrats have taken up in Georgia, the party has only elected a majority and under-elected vice president Kamala Harris will need to gather 51 votes against the 50 of the Republicans.
Not all Democrats are possibly on board for student debt relief, and even if it were, procedural rules in the Senate generally require legislation to get 60 votes. It will be difficult to support nine Republicans for a debt jubilee.
“With the Democratic control of the government, Republicans are likely to reaffirm their interest in the federal deficit and government costs,” said Laurel Harbridge-Yong, an associate professor at Northwestern University.
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There could be a way around these rules. A legislative process known as budget reconciliation once a year will enable Democrats to pass bills by a simple majority. This is how Democrats pushed through the final version of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. This is also how Republicans implemented their massive tax cuts in 2017.
But there are limits to this method, says Ryan D. Doerfler, a professor of law at the University of Chicago. “Democrats can only use reconciliation procedures three times in the next two years,” he said. Because this process can only be used once a year, there is usually a lot of competition over what to include, and this is especially true during the pandemic.
Reconciliation legislation should also be related to budget changes, and senators may try to block the provisions that they believe occur.
Given all the uncertainty of trying to enforce legislation to forgive student debt, advocates and Democrats are still appealing to Biden to cancel the loans administratively, saying borrowers cannot afford to wait for the relief.
“President Biden has a historic opportunity to improve the lives of tens of millions of American families struggling in the midst of a national crisis,” said Seth Frotman, who served as a student loan ombudsman at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Obama administration said.