2020 presidential candidates on student loan debt

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Presidential election
Donald Trump

Joe Biden

Howie Hawkins

Jo Jorgensen

This page includes statements from the 2020 presidential candidates on student loan debt. These statements were compiled from each candidate's official campaign website, editorials, speeches, and interviews. Click the following links for policy statements about related issues: education and charter schools and voucher programs.

The candidates featured on this page are the 2020 presidential nominees from the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, and Green parties.

Donald Trump
Joe Biden
Howie Hawkins
Jo Jorgensen

Student loan debt

Republican candidates

Donald Trump

Donald Trump's campaign website says, "The Trump Administration implemented the year-round distribution of Pell grants, instead of limiting these grants to the spring and fall semesters. Low-income students will now have access to these funds over summer and winter breaks, so they can earn their degrees faster with fewer loans. The Trump Administration brought in financial experts to modernize the way FSA offers and services student loans." ^{[source, as of 2020-06-22]}

Mark Sanford

Mark Sanford's campaign website does not include a position on student loan debt.

His website says about education, "There are only two ways to raise individual productivity and the wages that come with added levels of production – in investment that leverages our ability and through education that enhances our abilities. Education is key, and to compete effectively in the 21st Century its vital everyone of us recognize how lifelong learning is important. It must start early, and it's never finished. In this I believe in as many choices as possible that reflect the different ways we learn." ^{[source, as of 2019-09-10]}

Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh's campaign website does not include a statement outlining his position on student loans. ^{[source, as of 2019-08-30]}

Bill Weld

Bill Weld said in a speech, "The current federal provision which prevents the renegotiation of student debt? We need to repeal it immediately." ^{[source, as of 2019-02-15]}

Democratic candidates

Joe Biden

Joe Biden wrote in a Medium post, "I propose to forgive all undergraduate tuition-related federal student debt from two- and four-year public colleges and universities for debt-holders earning up to $125,000, with appropriate phase-outs to avoid a cliff. The federal government would pay the monthly payment in lieu of the borrower until the forgivable portion of the loan was paid off. This benefit would also apply to individuals holding federal student loans for tuition from private HBCUs and MSIs."

He listed the following additional proposals: "Immediately cancel a minimum of $10,000 of student debt per person, as proposed by Senator Warren in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. Those earning less than $25,000 per year will not have to make monthly payments and will accrue no interest Those earning more than $25,000 per year will pay no more than 5% of discretionary income toward payments After 20 years, the remainder of federal student loans will be forgiven without any tax burden Those who participate in public service will be eligible for additional federal loan forgiveness, including $10,000 per year of forgiveness for up to five years." ^{[source, as of 2020-04-09]}

Michael Bloomberg

Mike Bloomberg's campaign website does not include a statement on student loan debt.

Bloomberg's website includes the following statement on education policy, "Mike Bloomberg's campaign website says, "As mayor of New York City, Mike took over a failing and dysfunctional school system and turned it into a national model of reform. He strengthened standards and created more quality school options. Today, Mike leads national efforts to increase the number of lower-income students enrolled in top colleges. As president, Mike will make it a top national priority to increase student achievement, college preparedness, and career readiness." ^{[source, as of 2019-12-11]}

Cory Booker

Cory Booker's campaign website lists three student loan-related priorities: "Establish a path to debt-free college, because choosing to pursue higher education should not mean a lifetime of debt. Reform and simplify how students apply for federal financial aid. Protect student loan borrowers by holding student loan servicers accountable for predatory practices." ^{[source, as of 2019-08-27]}

Pete Buttigieg

Pete Buttigieg's campaign website says, "Pete will make public tuition free for 80% of American families, including all families earning up to $100,000 and many middle-income families with multiple children. He will also provide substantial tuition subsidies for students from families earning up to $150,000 and require that states improve affordability for all students."

His website also lists the following policies: "Add $120 billion to the Pell Grant program, including increasing the size of the maximum pell grant by $1,000. Invest an additional $50 billion in HBCUs, tribal colleges, and minority-serving institutions over the next decade. Invest in our local communities by creating a $1 billion community college fund. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for most students. Automatically enroll struggling student borrowers in affordable, income-driven repayment plans. Cancel debt for borrowers who attended unaffordable for-profit programs. Provide earlier student loan forgiveness to public servants and full debt cancellation after 10 years of service." ^{[source, as of 2019-11-19]}

Julián Castro

Julián Castro says, "My People First Education plan would eliminate tuition at public universities, community colleges, and technical and vocational programs, expand grant programs and loan forgiveness programs to lower income students, boost transparency and accountability of student loan programs, and institute an income-based repayment program that guarantees no student is paying more than their income allows."

Some of the policies listed on Castro's campaign website include: "Until a borrower is earning at least 250% of the federal poverty line, their monthly loan payment will be capped at $0 with no interest accrual on unpaid interest for three years. Expand the Pell Grant program. Support Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other minority serving institutions. Create a new program of targeted loan forgiveness to forgive a proportion of loans for individuals who qualify for and receive means tested federal assistance for any three years within a five year period." ^{[source, as of 2019-08-29]}

Tulsi Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard tweeted a chart showing an increase in student loans since 2008 and wrote, "This is the rate of student loan debt over the last 10 years. Trump admin has made it worse by rolling back regulations and oversight on the way loans are administered. We need to re-invest in our students and make college attainable for everyone." ^{[source, as of 2019-02-09]}

Kamala D. Harris

Kamala Harris' campaign website says, "Students shouldn’t fear decades of debt just because they want to pursue an education. But today in America, students graduate with so much debt, they often can’t take the job they want, start a business or a family, or even pay the bills. Kamala believes we need to act. As president, she’ll provide relief from crushing debt today, and ensure tomorrow’s students can attend college debt-free."

Her website continues, "That starts with immediately allowing current debt holders to refinance high-interest loans to lower rates, expanding Income Based Repayment (IBR) to ensure no student pays more than they can afford, and cracking down on for-profit colleges and lenders that defraud our students. As Attorney General, Kamala took on Corinthian Colleges, one of the largest for-profit college scams in the country, and obtained more than $1 billion in relief for students and veterans. Providing relief to students today is critical, but Kamala knows we also have to tackle the driver of this crisis: the runaway cost of college. Over the past 30 years, the cost of public college has increased over 200 percent, putting college entirely out of reach for many families and forcing others to take on mountains of debt. Kamala believes that in America, your family’s wealth should not dictate your success. That’s why as president, she’ll fight to make community college free, make four-year public college debt-free, and provide an income boost to nearly 1 in 7 Pell Grant recipients through her LIFT Act, the largest tax cut for working Americans in generations." ^{[source, as of 2019-08-20]}

Amy Klobuchar

Amy Klobuchar's campaign published a plan for her first 100 days in office which says she will, "allow students to refinance their loans at lower interest rates, provide tuition-free community college and technical certifications, and expand Pell Grant eligibility and award amounts." and "restore and strengthen rules that allow students who believe they were defrauded by their colleges to apply for loan forgiveness, providing relief to thousands of additional students." ^{[source, as of 2019-06-18]}

Beto O'Rourke

Beto O'Rourke's website lists the following proposals related to student loan debt: "Make Community College free for every American. Make the first two years of tuition at a state institution or technical college free for every American. Support meeting the full cost of attendance for low-income students and ensuring the middle-income students have debt-free options. Allow borrowers with high interest rate private student loan debt to refinance at lower federal interest rates. Accelerating student loan forgiveness for educators, with total loan forgiveness for those who have spent five years in a public school. Streamline and expand public service loan-forgiveness, enabling those working in public service to have 10% of their debt forgiven for each year served. Increase accountability for outcomes and crack down on predatory practices at for-profit institutions. Increase accessibility and affordability in higher education including debt free options for low- and middle-income students at four-year institutions." ^{[source, as of 2019-08-28]}

Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders' campaign website says, "Good jobs require a good education. That is why we are going to make public colleges and universities tuition free, and cancel all student debt."

His campaign website says he will: "Pass the College for All Act to provide at least $48 billion per year to eliminate tuition and fees at four-year public colleges and universities, tribal colleges, community colleges, trade schools, and apprenticeship programs. Cancel the entire $1.6 trillion in outstanding student debt for the 45 million borrowers who are weighed down by the crushing burden of student debt. This will save around $3,000 a year for the average student loan borrower." ^{[source, as of 2019-08-23]}

Thomas Steyer

Tom Steyer tweeted, "Student loans are crushing over 44 million Americans with $1.5 TRILLION in debt. Not only is this harming a whole generation, it's dragging down our economy. Borrowers deserve protections against abusive practices—a borrower's bill of rights." ^{[source, as of 2019-06-17]}

Elizabeth Warren

In a plan published online, Elizabeth Warren called for canceling student loan debt for most college graduates and eliminating all tuition costs at public two- and four-year schools.

Warren summarized her plan as follows: "My plan for broad student debt cancellation will: Cancel debt for more than 95% of the nearly 45 million Americans with student loan debt; Wipe out student loan debt entirely for more than 75% of the Americans with that debt; Substantially increase wealth for Black and Latinx families and reduce both the Black-White and Latinx-White wealth gaps; and Provide an enormous middle-class stimulus that will boost economic growth, increase home purchases, and fuel a new wave of small business formation. My plan for universal free college will: Give every American the opportunity to attend a two-year or four-year public college without paying a dime in tuition or fees; Make free college truly universal — not just in theory, but in practice — by making higher education of all kinds more inclusive and available to every single American, especially lower-income, Black, and Latinx students, without the need to take on debt to cover costs. The entire cost of my broad debt cancellation plan and universal free college is more than covered by my Ultra-Millionaire Tax — a 2% annual tax on the 75,000 families with $50 million or more in wealth." ^{[source, as of 2019-04-22]}

Andrew Yang

Andrew Yang's campaign website says, "As President, I will: Immediately reduce the student loan payments for millions of Americans by ensuring that the American government does not profit one cent from its educational loan servicing and that students get the same interest rates as the wealthiest bank. Explore a blanket partial reduction in the principal of school loans, especially for recent graduates with the largest debt levels—the “Bailout for the People”—and forgiveness for debt beyond a certain period after graduation. Propose the 10×10 Student Loan Emancipation Act, a plan by which the federal government would buy student loan debt (negotiated rate with the private lenders) and allow students to opt into a plan to repay it through pledging 10% of their salary per year for ten years, after which the balance would be forgiven. Ask schools to forgive in part or in whole the debts of those who do not graduate. Initiate a program that allows graduates to pay a percent of income instead of a fixed amount. Establish a commission that will explore debt forgiveness or reduction for students who sought degrees under false pretenses. Change bankruptcy laws to make it easier to discharge educational debt. Expand a program that forgives the debt of graduates who work in rural areas or with underprivileged populations. Close schools with high loan default rates and consistently low employment placement success. Police and prosecute all marketing representations of schools that might induce enrollment under false pretenses. Allow student loan debt to be discharged through bankruptcy, thus forcing lenders to work with students in good faith to find workable repayment plans." ^{[source, as of 2019-08-29]}

Green candidates

Howie Hawkins

Howie Hawkins' campaign website says, "I would establish a progressively graduated repayment program of 10% of income above the poverty line for 20 years after leaving school, after which all remaining debt would be forgiven. The federal government can do this because 92% of student loans are federal. The program would take possession of the remaining 8% of student loans. This program would cover student debt for tuition incurred going forward at accredited private institutions. For public institutions, I support free tuition. I oppose forgiving all student debt because working-class people should not pay for all the loans of wealthy students and high-income graduates, such as a Harvard graduate who goes to work for Goldman Sachs as a researcher or financial analyst with a starting salary of $75,000." ^{[source, as of 2020-07-09]}

Libertarian candidates

Jo Jorgensen

Jo Jorgensen's campaign website says she opposes increasing taxes for the rich in order to reduce interest rates for student loans. She also opposes the federal government paying for tuition at four-year colleges and universities. ^{[source, as of 2020-07-28]}

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Energy and environmental issues

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Impeachment

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Labor

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Footnotes