Biden to Announce Student Debt Relief for Millions in Swing-State Pitch

Officials said that 10 million borrowers could see debt relief of at least $5,000. The plan, set to be announced in Wisconsin, could help rally support among young voters.

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President Biden was set to announce his second large-scale effort at student debt relief in a speech in Madison, Wis., on Monday.

President Biden on Monday plans to announce a large-scale effort to help pay off student loans for tens of millions of American borrowers in Wisconsin, seeking an election-year boost by returning to a promise that was blocked by the Supreme Court last year.

White House officials said on Sunday that the president’s plan would reduce the amount that 23 million borrowers still owe on their undergraduate and graduate loans. It would wipe away the entire amount for more than four million Americans. They said that 10 million borrowers would see debt relief of $5,000 or more.

“Today’s announcement shows that we are continuing to fulfill our promises,” Miguel Cardona, the secretary of education, told reporters on Sunday evening. “We’re delivering as much relief as possible, for as many borrowers as possible, as quickly as possible.”

Mr. Biden was set to announce the plan in a speech in Madison, Wis., as other members of his administration fanned out to other cities to do the same. Vice President Kamala Harris will appear in Philadelphia on Monday. Mr. Cardona was traveling to New York.

If Mr. Biden succeeds in putting the new plan into effect before the November election, it may help rally support among voters who were intensely disappointed that the president failed in his first plan, which would have eliminated up to $20,000 in debt for tens of millions of borrowers.

But the president faces steep obstacles in the legal system and the calendar. The new plan will require a monthslong public comment period before it can take effect. Officials said on Sunday that only some of the provisions would begin going into effect in “early fall” of this year.

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