The student debt relief plans from Democratic presidential contenders Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg offer targeted loan forgiveness, drawing contrast with Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Campaign proposals for broad loan forgiveness from Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have helped make student debt a top issue in the Democratic presidential primary race.
It’s also made for as clear a dividing line as any issue between Warren and Sanders and their more moderate rivals for the 2020 nomination. Primary rivals have argued the Warren and Sanders plans are either unrealistic or unfair.
Other campaigns, though, have begun to roll out more narrow debt relief plans, including that of South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg, who argued at a Detroit primary debate last week that debt relief should begin with borrowers who attended for-profit colleges “that took advantage of people.” California senator Kamala Harris also released her own debt relief proposal last month targeting business owners in disadvantaged communities.
Other candidates, meanwhile, have called for simplifying loan repayment or allowing borrowers to refinance. And former San Antonio mayor Julián Castro in May called for loan forgiveness for borrowers who make long-term use of federal safety net programs. Whereas Sanders and Warren have split over how much automatic debt relief to offer borrowers — the Warren plan would cap forgiveness at $50,000 and offer limited relief to borrowers with incomes six figures or higher — their rivals are proposing a number of tweaks to the current system.