"If President Joe Biden could cancel some student loans, then why can’t he cancel all student loan debt?

Here’s what you need to know.

Student Loans

If you follow the latest headlines on student loans, then you know that Biden has canceled $17 billion of student loans since becoming president. That’s a substantial amount of student debt, even if it represents only 1% of total outstanding student loan debt of $1.7 trillion. If Biden has canceled some student loan debt, this begs the question of whether he could cancel all student loan debt. Let’s explore.

Student loan forgiveness: can Biden cancel everyone’s student loan debt?

Supporters of wide-scale student loan forgiveness argue that Biden has the existing legal authority to cancel student loans. According to their position, in the Higher Education Act of 1964, Congress granted legal authority to the president to enact wide-scale student loan cancellation through the U.S. Secretary of Education. Importantly, their position is that the president has the unlimited legal authority to cancel an unlimited amount of student loan debt for every student loan borrower. So, if Biden has the power to forgive student loans for some student loan borrowers, then he should have the authority to cancel everyone’s student loans. (Student loan forgiveness: 5 key takeaways from major announcement).

Student loan cancellation: why Biden can’t cancel everyone’s student loans

It’s not settled law that Biden has the legal authority to enact wide-scale student loan cancellation. (Student loan cancellation could look different than you think). Yes, the Higher Education Act of 1964 empowers the president through the Education Secretary to forgive student loans, but opponents argue Congress never granted unlimited authority to cancel an unlimited amount of student loan debt for an unlimited amount of student loan borrowers. It’s rare for Congress — the branch of government that makes laws and controls federal spending — to abdicate its full authority under the U.S. Constitution to the executive branch. While the Higher Education Act grants the president some powers to cancel or modify student debt, opponents say that the language therein doesn’t explicitly state that the president has unlimited and unchecked legal authority to enact wide-scale student loan cancellation for every student loan borrower. If Congress intended the president to have such broad legal authority, Congress would have explicitly stated so in the text.

So why doesn’t the president enact wide-scale student loan cancellation if he already canceled some student debt?

So, if the president has canceled some student loan debt, why can’t he cancel all student loan debt? It’s important to highlight the distinction between targeted student loan cancellation and wide-scale student loan cancellation. Yes, Biden has canceled $17 billion of student loans since becoming president. However, Biden has focused on targeted student loan cancellation based on existing laws and programs. For example, Biden has forgiven student loans through public service loan forgiveness, total and permanent disability discharge and borrower defense to student loan repayment. These are all existing student loan forgiveness programs that are available through the federal government. Biden has worked with the U.S. Department of Education, Social Security Administration and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, for example, to streamline student loan forgiveness. By relaxing the rules, reducing requirements and sharing data, Biden has granted more student loan forgiveness to student loan borrowers. However, this student loan forgiveness is different than seeking to enact wide-scale student loan forgiveness that hasn’t been explicitly approved by Congress and the U.S. Department of Education. (No, Biden isn’t canceling most student loan debt). Therefore, while Biden has canceled some student loan debt under existing federal programs, it doesn’t mean he has the legal authority to cancel all student loan debt under the Higher Education Act or other federal law."

The Biden administration is reviewing its legal authority to cancel student loans, and Biden is still considering wide-scale student loan forgiveness. That said, there is no guarantee that Biden will cancel everyone’s student loan debt, or that he will do so in the near term. With temporary student loan relief ending on August 31, 2022, now is the time to review your best options for student loan repayment. Here are some popular ways that student loan borrowers pay off student loans: "

• Student loan refinancing (lower interest rate + lower payment)
• Income-driven repayment(lower payment)
• Student loan forgiveness(federal student loans)

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