President Joe Biden is setting forth another plan to potentially eliminate student loan debt for millions, according to whitehouse.gov:
“The plans, if implemented, would provide debt relief to over 30 million Americans when combined with actions the Biden-Harris Administration has already taken to cancel student debt over the past three years.”
Coincidentally, in light of this significant announcement, President Biden, Vice President Harris, Second Gentleman Emhoff, and Secretary of State Cardona, are traveling to key swing states to make the announcements in person:
“Today, President Biden will travel to Madison, Wisconsin to announce these new plans, while Vice President Harris will travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff will travel to Phoenix, Arizona, and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona will travel to New York City to meet with borrowers benefitting from the Administration’s student debt relief actions.”
As with many of these far reaching political announcements, the above statement is pre-eminently getting ahead of the inevitable pushback that will occur, not considering the astronomical cost, and already pointing blame at Republicans if the plan is not enacted:
“While Republican elected officials try every which way to block millions of their own constituents from receiving student debt cancellation, President Biden has vowed to use every tool available to cancel student debt for as many borrowers as possible, as quickly as possible.”
Source: whitehouse.gov – https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/04/08/president-joe-biden-outlines-new-plans-to-deliver-student-debt-relief-to-over-30-million-americans-under-the-biden-harris-administration/
The proposed SAVE Plan, which if implemented, would supposedly cut loan payments in half. However, the previously proposed Biden student loan forgiveness plans were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court last June.
Source: supremecourt.gov – https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/22-506_nmip.pdf
The Younger Voter Appeal: General Terms of the Newly Proposed SAVE Plan
Under the terms of the SAVE plan, the new debt relief plan would reduce the amount that 25 million borrowers still owe on their student loans, wipe the full amount for more than four million Americans, and provide debt relief of $5,000 or more to 10 million borrowers.
This type of loan forgiveness is a similar pledge Biden made during his initial campaign run in 2020, which was a popular topic among young voters. It seems this is another attempt at gaining back younger voter support through a familiar platform.
According to a new poll from the Wall Street Journal, Trump is leading Biden when it comes to this key demographic, specifically (and arguably most importantly) in swing states.
The general sentiment is, in regards to key performance indicators, Biden is seemingly not instilling confidence among his younger constituents.
Source: Wall Street Journal – https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trump-biden-poll-swing-states-ad594acb
The plan being green-lit will be hotly contested, and likely not pass, as a similar plan has already been rejected at the highest court. Many pundits are already expressing, that this is a tactical move to gain back support from a key voting group, specifically in the states where their support will be most needed.