WASHINGTON (news agencies) — As he campaigns for reelection, President Joe Biden frequently touts his work on student debt, pointing to the millions of people who received cancellation under his watch. Yet relatively few Americans say they’re fans of his work on the issue, even among those who have student loans.
Three in 10 U.S. adults say they approve of how Biden has handled the issue of student loan debt, while 4 in 10 disapprove, according to a new poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and media-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The others are neutral or don’t know enough to say.
The outlook wasn’t much better for the Democratic president among those responsible for unpaid student loan debt, either for themselves or for a family member: 36% approve, while 34% disapprove.
The poll reveals a deep divide over the issue of student debt relief even as Biden makes it a campaign priority. The president is pressing ahead with a new cancellation plan while he strives to energize young adults and Black and Hispanic Americans — groups that are more likely to prioritize student loan relief but have flagging approval for the president.
After Biden’s first attempt at widespread student loan cancellation was struck down by the Supreme Court last year, he proposed a more targeted plan offering relief to certain categories of borrowers. The Biden administration has separately erased student debt for about 4 million people through existing programs.
Asher Marshall was rooting for Biden’s first cancellation plan. It would have chipped away at his $52,000 in student loans. But in hindsight, Marshall says it’s clear Biden made a promise he couldn’t deliver without going through Congress.
“He suggested something that sounded good to a lot of individuals in this country, but there was no way for it to move forward from the onset,” said Marshall, 33, of Jacksonville, Illinois.
Marshall, an independent, still plans to vote for Biden as the “lesser of two evils,” but he questions whether cancellation will energize other Black voters, especially since Biden’s latest plan helps fewer borrowers than the first one.
Melissa Mata feels let down by the president. The Houston resident has $14,000 in student loans from a program she never finished, and she could have used the help that Biden promised.
Now she plans to sit out the November election or vote independent.
“They make these promises to get votes, but they don’t deliver. So I think for me, I wouldn’t trust it,” said Mata, 34, a bookkeeper.
Some others say Biden isn’t to blame.
Samantha Kempf, a social worker in Howell, Michigan, has $78,000 in federal student loans from her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Kempf, a Democrat, was upset when Biden’s initial plan failed, but she doesn’t hold it against him.
“It was the Supreme Court that shut him down,” said Kempf, 32. “I don’t blame him for it, because he at least made an attempt to get something approved.”
Americans overall had a dimmer view on the Supreme Court’s handling of the issue, the poll found: 15% approve of its work on the issue and around one-quarter disapprove.
About 4 in 10 adults think it is extremely or very important for the federal government to provide student debt relief. A similar share say it’s not too important or not important at all, with about one-quarter in the middle, saying they believe it’s somewhat important.
Younger adults are more likely to prioritize government action on student debt, with about half under 45 saying it’s extremely or very important, compared to 3 in 10 older adults who said the same.
Political divisions are even wider, with 15% of Republicans saying it’s extremely or very important, compared to 58% of Democrats. The issue has become a rallying point for Republicans, who often say taxpayers shouldn’t get burdened with repaying other people’s college debt.
Neil Wolf, 49, repaid his student loans for two associate degrees, including a $23,000 loan he repaid in the 1990s. No one forces students to take out loans, and taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook to repay them, said Wolf, a Republican.
“We give too much away. You give everything away, nobody appreciates what they have,” said Wolf, of Denton, North Carolina. “Why should I pay for somebody else’s loans?”