Biden administration rolls out new student debt plan, this time aimed at people with big debts

The Biden administration's efforts to erase student debt for the 46 million Americans who are carrying college loans have repeatedly hit legal roadblocks. Now, the Department of Education is rolling out a new plan that could provide debt relief to 8 million borrowers who are suffering from financial hardships.

The new plan, unveiled Friday, would provide loan relief for approximately 8 million people with student loans who are suffering financial distress caused by other debts, ranging from medical expenses to costs due to a natural disaster. The Education Department said the proposed rules will be published in the Federal Register in the next few weeks, and that it expects to finalize the regulations in 2025. 

President Joe Biden made delivering debt relief to people with student loans a key policy issue of his 2020 campaign, but Republican-led states have sued to block many of those efforts, while the Supreme Court in 2023 ruled 6-3 against his plan to erase up to $20,000 in debt for millions of borrowers.