Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 5 - Issue 11

On Thursday, White House chief of staff Ron Klain announced that President Joe Biden requested a memo from Education Secretary Miguel Cardona outlining the president’s legal authority to cancel federal student loan debt. This comes as Democrats continue to urge Biden to use his executive powers to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt for all federal student loan borrowers. While Biden has declined to forgive that amount, he continues to reaffirm his support for Congress cancelling $10,000 in federal student loans per borrower.

The U.S. Department of Education announced plans to waive a requirement that made it more difficult for permanently disabled borrowers to have their student loan debt discharged. The requirement, which forced disabled borrowers to prove their income for three years after their loans were discharged as a result of their disability, will be waived for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Unions demand President Biden cancel student debt for public service workers.

TIME Magazine asks: If erasing student debt makes economic sense, why is it so hard to do?

In a new report, the American Enterprise Institute suggests changes to income-driven repayment plans, including limiting benefits for graduate students.

There were no relevant student-aid related bills recently introduced for consideration by the 117th Congress (2021-2022).