There was an update on April 25, 2022, 04:41pm.

More than 80% of Americans ages 18 to 29 want the government to take action when it comes to student debt relief, but as the Biden Administration ponders whether to forgive at least some student debt, less than 40% of young people think it should be canceled.

Advocates Demand Joe Biden Cancel Student Debt

The advocates want President Joe Biden to sign an executive order to cancel student debt.

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85% of respondents support some form of government action on student loans, while only 13% think the policies should change.

The government should cancel student loans for everyone according to 42% of those who want it to do so.

That is the highest support of any of the government solutions.

with repayment options” without canceling any debt and 21% wanting it to cancel debt “only for those most in need.”

The share of those just wanting help with repayment has gone down, while support for canceling student debt for everyone has gone up.

Democrats were the most in favor of canceling debt for everyone, with 48% of them in favor, compared to 20% of Republicans and 39% of Independents.

The racial gap in student debt is reflected in the fact that 50% of Black, 43% of Hispanic and 38% of Asian respondents support debt cancellation for everyone.

The Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics conducted a poll of 2,024 young people from March 15 to March 30.

What To Watch For

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the Administration could make a decision on whether President Joe Biden will cancel student debt before the August 31 deadline.

What We Don’t Know

Biden taking action on student loan relief will get more young people to vote in the upcoming elections. The president's approval rating among Harvard poll respondents is only 41%, which is down 5 percentage points from the school's last poll in Fall 2021, and 18 points since Spring 2021, and doing something politically popular like student debt relief could help improve his standing. It's not clear if Biden's action will convince young Americans to vote in November, but they were more likely to support canceling debt than likely voters. A large number of young people feel discouraged when it comes to political participation, with 42% saying they don't believe their vote will make a difference.

Key Background

More than 43 million Americans have federal student loan debt according to the U.S. Department of Education. Biden has taken action on student debt, like extending the pause on student loan payments and expanding student loan forgiveness programs to include more borrowers. Canceling student debt has become a popular proposal among progressives, and calls from Democratic politicians for the administration to cancel debt have grown in recent months as the moratorium on loan repayments has stretched on. Today would be a great day for President Biden and Vice President Harris to cancel student debt, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics has a Harvard Youth Poll.

If Biden Cancels Student Loans, he could decide before this date.

The pause on student loan payments will continue through August 31.

Student Loan Payment Pause Backed By Voters.

The Biden administration will expand student loan forgiveness programs.