Biden to discuss new student loan forgiveness plan in Wisconsin on Monday: Sources
President Joe Biden is expected to discuss the framework for a new major student loan forgiveness plan on Monday during a trip to Wisconsin, sources familiar with the White House's plans confirm to ABC News.
Biden is scheduled to travel on Monday to Madison, home to a major university and in a crucial battleground state.
A proposed rule that could impact millions of borrowers may be close to being finalized, sources said. The White House would not yet confirm any details.
The latest proposal was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Friday.
Sources told ABC News that unlike the sweeping student loan forgiveness plan that was struck down by the Supreme Court last year, this new one will require borrowers to fall into specific categories to get relief, such as possible financial hardship or holding debt that because of interest is now bigger than the amount originally borrowed.
That distinction -- a more targeted approach to debt cancellation -- is part of what makes the White House confident in their legal footing this time should a new proposal be challenged as well, sources said.
The Department of Education has been engaged in recent months in public listening sessions with stakeholders -- a move considered best practice and a way to firm up justification and standing for new regulations.
The Supreme Court struck down the Biden administration's initial loan forgiveness plan in June 2023. In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled the Department of Education exceeded its authority when it moved to wipe out more than $400 billion in federal student loan debt.
The program would have forgiven up to $10,000 in debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 a year. Borrowers who took out Pell Grants to pay for college could have had up to $20,000 canceled.
Forty-three million Americans would have qualified for the program, and the Education Department had already approved applications for 16 million borrowers before halting due to legal challenges.
Biden, who made tackling student loan debt a key campaign pledge, said following the ruling that "the fight is not over."
