Large-scale student loan debt forgiveness likely off the table in President Biden’s Plan B

USA Today

Alia Wong & Zachary Schermele

October 12, 2023

President Joe Biden’s second attempt at far-reaching student loan forgiveness likely will reach fewer borrowers than some might hope.

The Supreme Court in June overturned Biden’s original plan for mass forgiveness, which would have relieved up to $20,000 for tens of millions of Americans. Even before then but especially ever since, the president has focused on canceling the student loan debt of specific populations covered by existing policy.

At the same time, the federal Education Department turned to a process known as negotiated rulemaking, or “neg reg,” to enable broader relief through changes to federal higher education law.

But that process, which leans on a committee of stakeholders to deliberate those rule changes, may not result in the kind of sweeping student loan debt forgiveness Biden’s first plan aimed for. The first neg reg meeting wrapped up Wednesday, and throughout it Education Department officials stressed its limitations, redirecting the conversation on specific borrowers. Threats of litigation are also top of mind.

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