Joe Biden’s New Debt Forgiveness Plan, Explained

The Biden administration isn’t giving up on finding a way to forgive potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in student loans to tens of millions of Americans. 

The Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Biden v. Nebraska means the president has no authority under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES) Act to forgive more than $400 billion of student loan debt. But immediately after the ruling President Joe Biden announced he will now pursue the same goal using the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA).

What is the Higher Education Act?

President Lyndon Johnson signed the HEA to increase access to higher education in a job market that increasingly required college degrees. It authorized several federal funding programs dedicated to expanding the quality and affordability of higher education through student loans, scholarships, and grants, including the Pell Grant, which aids undergraduate students with “exceptional financial need.”