Elizabeth Warren Proves the Republican Party is Lying About Student Debt Relief

One of The most pervasive and damaging lie in American politics is the belief that canceling student debt would be a gift to the rich.

For example, Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate, J.D. Vance, called student debt relief “a huge giveaway to the wealthy,” arguing that “Republicans need to fight this with all their energy and power.”

This argument has always been laughable on its face. Why would students take out high-interest loans if they didn’t have to? And if canceling student debt actually benefited the wealthy, wouldn’t Republicans support it?

A new report by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) makes it clear, once again, who would actually benefit from student debt cancellation: African Americans, women, seniors and low-income borrowers. More than 40 million Americans have $1.6 trillion in federal student debt. Carrying that debt can result in financial hardship and lower rates of homeownership. For years, student loans were not dischargeable through bankruptcy, unlike most consumer debt.

The conservative-dominated Supreme Court has already blocked two attempts by President Joe Biden and his administration to help Americans with student loans — including his plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt for borrowers nationwide. Trump applauded the first of those decisions in 2023, arguing that forgiving student loans would be “deeply unfair to millions and millions of people who have paid off their debts through hard work and diligence.” As president, Trump appointed three of the six conservative justices to the Supreme Court.

The Biden administration is working to finalize another plan under the Higher Education Act to provide relief to 24 million student borrowers. The Warren-Merkley report examines the impact of Biden’s new plan and who will benefit from it.

The new plan will target four groups. The first is the 20 million borrowers who now owe more than they originally borrowed. The second is borrowers who have been repaying their loans for more than 20 years. Finally, the beneficiaries are borrowers who qualify for existing programs but did not enroll, and borrowers who did not receive the value of the education their institutions promised, such as those who attended for-profit colleges accused of falsely advertising their earnings potential.

On average, black college graduates owe $25,000 more in student debt than white college graduates. “Student debt burdens black borrowers more than any other racial group, but new rules from the Biden-Harris administration will help close the racial wealth gap,” the report says.

Women are more likely to have more debt than men and lower earnings. The new rules could help address that disparity. One group that would benefit is public school teachers, 77 percent of whom are women.

The number of federal loan borrowers over age 60 has increased by 500 percent over the past 20 years, the report said. “Older Americans face particular challenges in repaying outstanding debt, given lower incomes and ‘exceptionally low’ cash savings,” the report authors write. This group could benefit from student loan debt relief.

Contrary to conservative myths, most student debt is borne by households without assets. Lower-income students may be more likely to attend community college or a vocational program; the proposed rule would help those with debt in a two-year program, a certificate program, and those who never completed a degree.

“Ten million borrowers will benefit from the Biden-Harris administration’s new student debt relief rule,” the report says, adding: “This new rule will help low- and moderate-income families and the economy as a whole — by freeing borrowers from crushing debt and giving them the ability to buy homes, start new businesses, and invest in themselves and their families.”