The Biden administration's plan to expand income-driven repayment options for student loans is a step in the right direction. But to address America's longstanding and increasingly burdensome higher-education financing challenge, Congress will need to do its part.
PRINCETON – Some 44 million Americans currently owe $1.6 trillion in student loan debt, and more than seven million of them were in default prior to the pandemic repayment pause. Since this crushing burden is associated with reduced homeownership, degraded credit ratings, and delayed marriage and child-bearing, lawmakers and advocates have pushed for blanket student loan forgiveness. However, a recent effort by the Biden administration to cancel $430 billion of student-loan debt was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.
PRINCETON – Some 44 million Americans currently owe $1.6 trillion in student loan debt, and more than seven million of them were in default prior to the pandemic repayment pause. Since this crushing burden is associated with reduced homeownership, degraded credit ratings, and delayed marriage and child-bearing, lawmakers and advocates have pushed for blanket student loan forgiveness. However, a recent effort by the Biden administration to cancel $430 billion of student-loan debt was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.