As the Supreme Court mulls the legality of President Biden’s student loan forgiveness, little has changed among the parties.
While some issues have consensus, such as the cost of U.S. colleges being too high and the student loan system being too difficult for borrowers, agreement quickly fizzles out on solutions.
The partisan divide is back in the spotlight as Democrats and Republicans are readying new proposals, from free college to targeted debt relief.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) announced last week the “College for All Act” ahead of the Supreme Court’s decision.
The legislation aims to make college tuition free for working-class Americans and would be paid for by another introduced bill called the “Tax on Wall Street Speculation Act of 2023.”
House and Senate Republicans were on the move last week introducing multiple bills that would increase transparency in financial aid offers from colleges and consolidate student loan repayment options to make the system easier to navigate.
But experts say many of the proposals around student loan relief are more Band-Aid solutions than addressing the root issues, which are harder to sell politically.
The Hill’s Lexi Lonas has more here.
