President Joe Biden’s administration is reminding voters about long-awaited student-debt relief plans by notifying millions of Americans who may be eligible for loan forgiveness as the November presidential election looms.
The Education Department will begin emailing borrowers with at least one federally held loan on Thursday with information on its proposals to forgive student debt. Biden’s actions on student debt could relieve loans for more than 25 million additional borrowers. The notification does not guarantee that recipients will be eligible.
Biden’s proposal—which is not yet finalized—would provide relief to borrowers who have been in repayment for more than 20 years, who attended low-value schools, or whose balances have exploded beyond the initial total due to interest. Americans who are eligible for existing federal loan management programs would also qualify under the proposal.
The email is largely a messaging strategy to emphasize Biden’s 2020 campaign promise to forgive large swaths of student debt, one way the 81-year-old president has sought to expand his appeal to younger voters. Loan forgiveness has weighed on Biden’s time and political capital while in the White House, but his efforts have faced legal setbacks.
Biden dropped out of the race earlier this month faced with concerns about his age and mental acuity, flagging poll numbers and cratering campaign contributions. Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee after Biden’s exit. The renewed focus on student loans could prove to be a boost to her campaign.
The student-loan plan is expected to be finalized this fall, but could face further legal challenges. The proposal’s future could depend heavily on whether Harris or Republican rival Donald Trump wins in November. The plan has drawn criticism from Republicans who say such programs are unfair to those who choose not to go to college because of costs.
“Despite attempts led by Republican elected officials to block our efforts, we won’t stop fighting to provide relief to student loan borrowers, fix the broken student loan system, and help borrowers get out from under the burden of student debt,” Biden said in a statement.
The White House’s original plan for broad loan relief, estimated to cost $400 billion, was thrown out by the Supreme Court last year after the conservative majority deemed the plan an overreach of executive powers.
The current proposal is only expected to apply to student-loan borrowers who have entered repayment by the time the rules are finalized, meaning current or soon-to-be college students are unlikely to benefit.
Americans who wish to decline the relief proposals must notify their servicer by Aug. 30. Those who opt out will not be able to opt back in, according to the Education Department.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.