President Joe Biden’s selection to pardon his son with seven weeks left in his term prompted some Americans to inquire him to “pardon” their learner obligation, but forgiving learner loans isn’t so straightforward.

Americans racked up a total of $1.6 trillion in learner loans as of June 2024, according to Pew Research Center. One in four adults under 40 had learner financing obligation, preventing many from buying homes, starting families and saving money, the study found. Biden took several actions to address the issue during his four years in office but has faced multiple challenges. He succeeded in enacting more than $166 billion in forgiveness for about 4.4 million borrowers, according to recent data from the U.S. Department of Education.

In October, the department said the Biden administration approved additional forgiveness, bringing the total relief to $175 billion in learner obligation relief for nearly 5 million borrowers. Some are still pushing Biden to broaden that relief to more financially strapped people before he leaves office in January.

On Wednesday, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., sent a note signed by 72 of their colleagues to Biden’s secretary of education, calling on the department to discharge financing obligation for “students who were defrauded by predatory schools.”

“Under the previous Trump Administration, borrowers’ applications were allowed to languish for years. If their application was reviewed, borrowers often were denied and granted no relief,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is imperative that the Department provide immediate relief to borrowers.”

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Toward the complete of President-elect Donald Trump’s first term amid the widening COVID-19 pandemic, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos paused learner financing payments empowered by the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act, or Heroes Act, which gave Americans a reprieve during the pandemic. When Biden took office, his administration extended temporary relief to borrowers under the same authority.

But, facing pressure from advocacy groups and constituents in obligation, Biden opted to leave further. He sought ways to make the relief permanent rather than instructing borrowers to resume payments. Not all of these efforts panned out. Here is a look at the ways Biden tried to forgive federal learner loans and the hurdles he faced while in office: 

More:You may not require that learner financing after all. Here’s the latest college tuition pattern.

Supreme Court reacts to Biden’s obligation forgiveness schedule

In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court shut down the assertion by Biden’s education secretary, Miguel Cardona, that the Heroes Act granted him the authority to cancel $430 billion in learner financing obligation. 

The court’s conservative majority said the Biden administration was overreaching when it extended packed pandemic-era relief using a law that temporarily paused financing payments in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the U.S. military action that followed. That law was later expanded to protect borrowers affected by wars and national emergencies. 

The Biden administration argued and dissenting liberal Supreme Court Justices agreed Cardona had the authority to update the law, as it is modifiable. If enacted, the law would have eliminated up to $20,000 in learner financing obligation for millions of Americans. 

Chief fairness John Roberts, who authored the court’s majority view, said that while the education secretary is granted the ability to “modify” existing provisions in the law, it’s unlikely Congress intended to authorize a sweeping financing cancellation program when it passed the act.

“The authority to ‘modify’ statutes and regulations” allows the secretary to “make modest adjustments and additions to existing provisions, not transform them,” Roberts wrote.

The majority ruling in Biden v. Nebraska stopped the president’s schedule for $430 billion learner obligation relief in its tracks.

Other ways Biden offered learner obligation relief

Biden was quick to respond to the Supreme Court ruling, calling it “a mistake.”

“I’m not going to stop fighting to deliver borrowers what they require, particularly those at the bottom complete of the economic scale,” he told reporters. “So, we require to discover a recent way.” 

Biden proceeded to lay out a schedule by pivoting to the Higher Education Act of 1965, authorizing Cardona to compromise, waive or release loans under sure circumstances.

Biden explained that this path, while legally sound, would receive longer than offering relief through the Heroes Act. His administration managed to propose tiny bursts of relief for specific groups, including people unable to pay off tiny loans over 10 years and those employed by the government or nonprofits.

Just 11 days before the 2024 general election, Biden announced a recent broad learner obligation relief schedule. It would use newly proposed rules to authorize Cardona to cancel the obligation of borrowers the government expects will default on their loans over the next two years if they meet sure criteria, he said. The schedule would also allow borrowers experiencing “hardship,” including medical obligation, high childcare costs and economic impact from natural disasters, to apply for relief.

How much learner obligation has been forgiven?

Here’s a look at the amount of due learner financing balances the Department of Education has identified for forgiveness:

• 1,007,940 borrowers with a collective due settlement of about $73.72 billion were identified for forgiveness as of October under community Service financing Forgiveness discharges and approvals.
• 1,035,480 borrowers with a collective due settlement of about $51.07 billion were identified for forgiveness as of May under the income-driven debt servicing plans.
• 1,328,000 borrowers with a collective due settlement of about $20.03 billion were identified for forgiveness, according to recent data, under borrower defense approvals.
• 571,850 borrowers with a collective due settlement of about $16.2 billion were identified for forgiveness as of August under Total and Permanent Disability discharges (through a match with the Social safety Administration and all types since July 1, 2023).
• 414,020 borrowers with a collective due settlement of about $5.46 billion were identified for forgiveness as of May under the SAVE program.

Contributing: Zachary Schermele.

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