On Monday, April 8, WURD Radio host Tonya Pendleton moderated a roundtable discussion on student debt hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris visited Philadelphia following the announcement of plans from the Biden-Harris administration to expand student debt relief efforts to 23 million Americans. The vice president hosted a roundtable discussion Monday afternoon featuring Philadelphia residents impacted by the administration’s student debt cancellation.
Pendleton, host of Reality Check on WURD Radio, moderated the panel and conducted a one-on-one interview with Harris immediately following the roundtable.
On Monday the Biden-Harris administration announced a slate of plans to continue their efforts to relieve student debt for millions of Americans. The cancellation plans would be done under Education Secretary Miguel Cardona’s authority under the Higher Education Act, originally signed into law in 1965.
Among the highlights of the plan are:
Cancellation of up to $20,000 of the amount a borrower’s balance has grown due to unpaid interest on their loans after entering repayment, regardless of their income.
Automatically canceling debt for borrowers eligible for loan forgiveness programs but who have not enrolled
Canceling student debt for borrowers who entered repayment over 20 years ago, those who enrolled in low-financial-value programs, and those experiencing hardship paying back their loans
The roundtable discussion focused on the stories of individuals who have already had debt cancellations while detailing the administration’s new proposals to continue reducing and eliminating student debt.