54. Provide immediate and automatic student loan debt cancellation to all student borrowers

Finance 09.6.24

Here’s what the federal government[i] can do:

  • Federal policymakers should ensure that debt cancellation of at least $50,000 is extended to all student loan borrowers.
  • Federal policymakers should ensure that debt cancellation is not limited based on the sector of institution attended.
  • Federal policymakers should ensure that the debt cancellation process is automatic, easy, accessible, and does not have negative credit implications.
  • Federal policymakers should eliminate the taxation of forgiven federal student loan debt, regardless of the reason for discharge.
  • Federal policymakers should strengthen policies that increase meaningful access and affordability in higher education.

Federal policymakers must end the harmful and burdensome cycles of student debt and provide immediate cancellation and relief to borrowers. Canceling student debt provides relief for existing borrowers and opens doors for the next generation of students and families pursuing higher education. Federal policymakers should ensure that debt cancellation is extended to all student loan borrowers, including Direct Loan, Family Federal Education Loan (FFEL), graduate, and Parent PLUS borrowers, without regard to borrower income, default status, or repayment plan. The cancellation of at least $50,000 per borrower would eliminate the debt burden experienced by more than 75 percent of federal borrowers.[ii] This would include full student loan debt cancellation for 85 percent of Black borrowers and 96 percent of Latino borrowers in the lowest income quintile.[iii]

For more information, see the Civil Rights Principles for Student Debt Cancellation.

[i] References to the federal government in this section include members of Congress and the executive branch.

[ii]“Road to Relief: Supporting Federal Student Loan Borrowers During the COVID-19 Crisis and Beyond Center for Responsible Lending & the National Consumer Law Center,” 2020. https://www.responsiblelending.org/research-publication/road-relief-supporting-federal-student-loan-borrowers-during-covid-19-crisis.

[iii]“Civil Rights Principles for Student Loan Debt Cancellation,” The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. https://edtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Civil-Rights-Principles-for-Student-Loan-Debt-Cancellation041821.pdf.