Voters in new poll split on reported student loan forgiveness proposal

Voters in a new poll are divided in their views about a student loan forgiveness plan reportedly under consideration by the Biden administration.

The Morning Consult-Politico survey asked voters about reports that officials are considering forgiving $10,000 in student loan debt for Americans who make $150,000 or less as individuals or $300,000 or less as married couples who jointly file their taxes.

About 30 percent of all respondents said that the income threshold was “just right,” while 13 percent said it is too high and 9 percent said it is too low. Roughly a third — 35 percent — said that no amount of student debt should be forgiven at all, and 14 percent had no opinion.

Of those with student loan debt, 53 percent said that the income threshold was “just right,” compared to 25 percent of those without student loan debt.

Pollsters also discovered that about 40 percent of those without any student loan debt said that no student debt should be forgiven, compared to just 11 percent of those with student loan debt who agreed.

On Monday, it was reported that President Biden would likely announce his plans regarding student debt in July or August. The student loan payment moratorium is set to expire on Aug. 31.

In April, multiple sources confirmed to The Hill that Biden was considering expunging at least $10,000 per borrower.

Though details have yet to be released, the Education Department has confirmed it is additionally “working on new regulations that will permanently improve a variety of the existing student loan relief programs, significantly reduce monthly payments, and provide greater protections for students and taxpayers against unaffordable debts.” 

The new poll of 2,006 registered voters, conducted June 4-5, has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.