Do you support federal student loan forgiveness programs?

Background

Federal student loan forgiveness has been one of the most contentious policy debates in the United States for years, and it is entering a new chapter in 2026. According to the Federal Reserve, Americans collectively owe approximately $1.84 trillion in student loan debt, with about 42.8 million federal borrowers carrying an average balance near $39,600 per person. The Biden administration's broad forgiveness efforts, including its SAVE Plan, were blocked by multiple federal courts, and the Supreme Court ruled that sweeping loan cancellation required congressional authorization. Now, under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act signed by President Trump in July 2025, the Department of Education is implementing a major overhaul of the federal student loan system effective July 1, 2026, replacing most existing repayment plans with two new options — a Repayment Assistance Plan and a Tiered Standard Plan — while eliminating the Grad PLUS loan program for new borrowers and introducing new borrowing caps. Public Service Loan Forgiveness remains in place, though with tightened eligibility rules, and forgiven loan balances under income-driven repayment are now generally treated as taxable income after a pandemic-era tax exemption expired at the end of 2025.

Supporters of student loan forgiveness argue that relieving borrowers of crushing debt frees younger generations to buy homes, start businesses, and contribute more broadly to the economy. The Peter G. Peterson Foundation notes that advocates also contend forgiveness could help address racial inequality, since borrowers of color are more likely to hold student debt and in larger amounts. Proponents point to the fact that college tuition has roughly tripled in real terms since 1980, creating a system where most students cannot attend without borrowing. Opponents counter that widespread forgiveness shifts hundreds of billions of dollars in obligations from individual borrowers to taxpayers, many of whom never attended college or already repaid their own loans. The Brookings Institution has found that over half of outstanding student debt is held by individuals in the top two income quintiles, leading critics — including the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget — to warn that broad forgiveness disproportionately benefits higher earners. Others argue it could incentivize future overborrowing and do nothing to rein in rising tuition costs, which some economists link in part to the availability of federal lending itself.

The stakes of this debate are substantial. Roughly 43 million Americans hold federal student loans, and delinquency rates have surged since the end of the pandemic-era payment pause, with the Department of Education reporting a 31-plus-day delinquency rate of nearly 30 percent by dollar balance in mid-2025. The policy choices ahead will shape not only whether borrowers receive relief but also whether new loan limits and streamlined repayment plans succeed in curbing future debt growth. How policymakers balance borrower relief against taxpayer cost and long-term higher-education affordability will have broad consequences for millions of families, the federal budget, and the trajectory of college costs for generations to come.