Student loan forgiveness panel gives Biden’s latest plan stamp of approval

USA TODAY

Alia Wong and Zachary Schermele

February 23, 2024

President Joe Biden’s Plan B for broad student debt relief just got one step closer to becoming reality.

After hours of talks Thursday and Friday, a group of former students, advocates and experts greenlit an Education Department proposal that could forgive student loans for a broad range of struggling borrowers.

The decision comes the same week that Biden forgave more than $1 billion in loans for a separate batch of borrowers, drawing the ire of conservatives in Washington who accused him of trying to “buy votes.” The president says he’s pursuing debt cancellation in every venue he can.

“We are hopeful that you can see that our best effort has been put forth,” said Tamy Abernathy, a policy coordinator for the Education Department, during this week’s talks.

The specific plan approved on Friday would ensure automatic relief for borrowers experiencing economic hardship. It would give the U.S. education secretary significant authority in determining who would count under the new regulation. The secretary would be allowed to consider multiple factors in those decisions – including income, age and the likelihood a person would default on their loans.

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