A Majority of Voters Support Student Loan Debt Relief Through the Higher Education Act
By Kate Sosland and Anika Dandekar
Last week, the Supreme Court struck down President Biden’s student debt relief plan, which sought to provide up to $20,000 in relief for low-income and working-class student loan borrowers.
In response, Biden announced that his administration will now pursue providing student debt relief using a different legal authority, the Higher Education Act of 1965. This legislation permits the secretary of education to “compromise, waive, or release” loans held by the federal government, according to Section 1082 of Title 20 of the U.S. Code.
New polling from Data for Progress and the Student Borrower Protection Center finds that a majority of likely voters (54 percent) support this approach, including majorities of Democrats and Independents, and half of Republicans under 45. The survey was conducted from May 26 to June 2, 2023.
The survey also finds that the Supreme Court’s rejection of Biden’s initial plan goes against popular opinion. Sixty-one percent of voters support Biden’s plan to provide up to $20,000 in student loan debt relief for low-income borrowers, while only 36 percent of voters oppose the plan. This includes a majority of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans under 45.
Although the Supreme Court’s decision does not reflect the will of voters, the Higher Education Act is a promising alternative for the Biden Administration to provide student debt relief. As the White House moves down this new path, it is clear that a majority of voters — and young voters in particular — back the push to relieve the heavy burden of student debt on low-income Americans.
Kate Sosland (@kate_sosland) is the communications intern at Data for Progress.
Anika Dandekar (@AnikaDandekar) is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.
Survey Methodology
From May 26 to June 2, 2023, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 3,987 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±2 percentage points.