By Ethan Cohen
As Americans head to the polls on Nov. 5 to elect the next president, student loan forgiveness has emerged as a critical issue for the more than 40 million Americans who have federal student loan debt.
More than 70% of Long Beach State students and graduates receive financial aid through grants or loans, while the average debt for students following graduation is $16,000, according to a 2023 study conducted by the Cal State Student Association.
Student loans have built up to over $1.7 trillion nation-wide; the attempts by the Biden administration to wipe out large portions of the sum have met resilient opposition, including the Supreme Court striking down plans to forgive over $400 million of debt in a 6-3 decision.
While both presidential candidates push for greater participation from young voters, they take vastly different approaches to the issue. Neither has laid out a specific campaign proposal for how to tackle the crisis if they were to be elected.
Kamala Harris
During her time as a U.S. Senator from California, Vice President Harris supported several proposals to reduce student debt and offer free education for students. She backed the College For All Act of 2023, introduced by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Pramila Jayapal, amongst a few other proposed bills that ultimately did not get passed into law.
Harris has championed Biden’s student loan forgiveness efforts while holding a similar track record of her own, calling for narrower debt forgiveness during her 2019 presidential campaign– which, at the time, faced criticism for being limited in scope.
Despite the defeat of the Biden administration’s loan forgiveness plan, the administration recently canceled $170 billion in debt for over five million people.
On Harris’ campaign website, she said she will “continue working to end the unreasonable burden of student loan debt and fight to make higher education more affordable, so that college can be a ticket to the middle class.”
However, her campaign team has yet to highlight the specifics of a new forgiveness plan if elected.
In her attempt to court moderate voters, Harris’ campaign has focused on potential voters without college degrees, prioritizing issues they see as vital to this election.
Donald Trump
When the Supreme Court struck down the Biden administration’s attempt to cancel a large swath of student debt, former President Trump touted his role in nominating the justices that struck it down, calling it an “unconstitutional student loan gimmick” in a press release from July 2023.
During Trump’s first term, Congress paused student loan payments at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump later extended the pause on interest accrual and payments on student debt through the end of his term.
Trump’s campaign has largely avoided discussing this issue for the upcoming 2024 election. However, his website mentions “more affordable alternatives to a traditional four-year college degree” and “fund proven career training programs”.
Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance also highlighted his readiness to spar with the Democratic party over the issue in a post on X from 2022, formerly known as Twitter.
“Forgiving student debt is a massive windfall to the rich, to the college educated and most of all to the corrupt university administrators of America. No bailouts for a corrupt system,” Vance said. “Republicans must fight this with every ounce of our energy and power.”
