Harris silent on student loans as cancellation loses its political luster

By COLLIN BINKLEY and ALIA WONG

WASHINGTON (AP) — At a campaign rally in April, President Joe Biden told a crowd in Wisconsin about his latest “life-changing” student loan cancellation plan, promising financial relief for more than 30 million Americans.

But Kamala Harris has avoided the issue at her political events since replacing Biden as the Democratic nominee for president. The vice president’s platform mentions it only twice, and without a specific plan. As she woos moderate voters, Harris has focused on policies aimed at Americans without college degrees.

“For too long, our country has encouraged only one path to success: a four-year college degree,” Harris said in September in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. “Our nation must recognize the value of other paths.”

In just a few years, student loan elimination has gone from a Democratic Party mainstay to a political imperative. Once seen as a surefire way to energize young voters, the issue has now become a bludgeon for Republicans who say it benefits elites at the expense of those who have paid back their loans or not attended college .

The issue came up only once during the presidential debate in September, when it was Republican Donald Trump harris and Biden insisted they had not kept their promise of widespread cancellation. The former president called it a “total catastrophe” that “mobbed young people.”

“They didn’t even come close to getting a student loan,” Trump said.

Biden’s efforts to forgive student loans have hit brutal roadblocks

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt at Madison College, April 8, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) — FILE – President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt at Madison College, April 8, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Biden, who once questioned the legality of massive student loan forgiveness, campaigned on the issue after progressives like Sen. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., made it a mainstream idea. But as president, Biden has faced relentless challenges from Republican opponents. For the about 42 million For people with federal student loans, hope for forgiveness has turned to resignation and disillusionment.

Biden’s first plan to cancel up to $20,000 for millions of people was blocked by the Supreme Court last year. A second, more limited plan has been halted by a federal judge after Republican-led states filed a lawsuit. A separate policy intended to lower loan payments for struggling borrowers has been suspended by a judge, even after Republican-controlled states challenged it.

On Friday, the Biden administration went further yet another attempt to cancel the student loanThis targeted Americans facing heavy financial burdens beyond their student loans. It faces an uncertain future, arriving less than two weeks before the November 5 election.

The legal uncertainty likely contributed to Harris de-emphasizing the cancellation, said Michelle Dimino, education program director at the centrist think tank Third Way. It’s also an issue her base is familiar with, she added.

“There’s not much news she can offer before we know what will happen in court,” Dimino said. When Biden first pitched a broad cancellation, it was something that had not yet been attempted. “Now it is a completely different landscape than in 2020, when it was a blank slate.”

Harris’ silence also signals the political risks, especially in a close election. Any new loan cancellation promises would energize Republicans, who have made it a rallying cry. For voters who could benefit from the cancellation, it’s a promise they’ve heard before.

“The Harris campaign has realized that this is not necessarily a winning political issue,” said Preston Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

“The student loan agenda is in tatters and hasn’t really helped them win votes,” Cooper said.

Even moderate Americans seem skeptical about student loan forgiveness. A June poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that three in 10 American adults said they approved of Biden’s work on student debt, and it wasn’t much better among those paying back loans. Just over half of Democrats said they support the president’s job, while 18% of independents said the same.

Both Harris and Trump promote alternatives to college

Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at James R. Hallford Stadium, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Georgia (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The Harris campaign declined to provide details or answer questions about her cancellation plan.

Her platform only mentions student loans after a full page of policies targeting workers without a degree. At the September meeting in Pennsylvania, Harris drew applause when she said she would eliminate unnecessary degree requirements for federal jobs. She made no mention of student loans in her 20-minute speech.

“Requiring a certain degree doesn’t necessarily indicate someone’s skills,” Harris told the audience at Wilkes University, a private university in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Harris’ comments reflect a traditional Republican talking point that is increasingly being embraced by Democrats as more Americans question the value of a college degree.

“Student loan forgiveness may alienate some of the support Harris hopes to gain from the non-college educated,” said Andrew Gillen, a researcher at the Center for Educational Freedom at the libertarian Cato Institute. “These types of polarizing topics poison the well for other issues supported by both parties. Once issues like student loan forgiveness settle down, I think we’ll see a lot more of that bipartisan agreement emerge.”

It is one of the few points of agreement between Harris and Trump.

In his platform, the former Republican president said he will “support the creation of additional, dramatically more affordable alternatives to a traditional four-year college degree.” There is no mention of loans. Trump has opposed the cancellation, saying it is illegal.

“President Trump will implement real solutions to make education, housing and the cost of living affordable again for young people so they can achieve the American dream,” Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, told the AP.

Student loan advocates point to Trump’s vague promises, failure to resolve public loan forgiveness issues and judicial appointments that stood in the way of broad student debt relief. “Trump is proud of his work to hurt working families,” said Melissa Byrne, a political organizer who has pushed for the cancellation.

The fate of further student loan cancellations is unclear

As attorney general in California, Harris led efforts to punish for-profit colleges for defrauding borrowers. As a presidential candidate in 2019, Harris proposed a narrower path to loan forgiveness than Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Harris’ plan would have provided $20,000 in aid to any federal Pell Grant recipient who started a business in an underserved community and kept it going for three years.

After the Biden administration announced this month that this was the case canceled loans for more than 1 million public service officials, Harris issued a statement applauding the work, again pledging overall to “continue making higher education more affordable.”

Aissa Canchola Bañez, political director at Protect Borrowers Action, said Harris’ record on student debt relief suggests she would follow through on promises made under Biden.

“This is an issue she has been working on long before she came to Washington, D.C.,” Canchola Bañez said, pointing to the unprecedented amount of student loans forgiven under the Biden administration. “We’ve seen the vice president come out very strongly and applaud the relief that has come so far.”

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Originally published: October 28, 2024 at 9:57 AM PDT