As the Biden administration rushes to relieve student debt on a larger scale, South Florida borrowers, like Mitchell Matthew, wonder if the federal aid will ever arrive at all.
Mitchell, who works as a physical therapist in West Palm Beach, was approved for the administration’s loan forgiveness in 2022 but became frustrated a year later when the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down.
Mitchell, 37, who graduated from Rutgers University in 2015 with a doctorate in physical therapy, took out $130,000 over three years.
“I think there is a tendency where money doesn't feel real while you're in school. And then, all of a sudden, when you have to pay it back at about a thousand bucks a month — that’s a mortgage,” Mitchell said.
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The $10,000 reduction under Biden’s 2022 plan would not have erased his balance, but Mitchell said "it would make things less tight financially."
Mitchell is among the 2.7 million borrowers in Florida who currently owe more than $103 billion in federal student loans. Nationwide, more than 43 million borrowers owe a collective $1.7 trillion, according to the latest data, with the average amount per borrower topping $37,000.
For student loan borrowers, the road to repaying loans has been winding and help from the administration seems less than certain.
In total, the administration says it has approved the cancellation of almost $160 billion in student loans through a variety of existing programs. Among that total, $28.7 billion has been canceled for those who were cheated by their colleges or went to campuses that suddenly closed.
The federal government halted all loan payments at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2022, Biden proposed a $400 billion plan to reduce student debt for millions across the country. It offered a $10,000 reduction to borrower’s loans, and a $20,000 reduction to Pell Grant recipients.
Last year, however, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the plan and loan payments restarted last October, placing the load back on borrowers’ shoulders. It ruled the administration overstepped its authority and needed approval from Congress.
Student debt relief is on the way — for some
The administration is once again proposing several student debt cancellation measures, with a recent plan promising to ease the debts of more than 30 million borrowers.
Biden, who is running for re-election in November, is betting his efforts to reduce the financial burden of student loan debt will help win over young voters.
In an interview with WLRN, National Economic Council deputy director John Donenburg said the administration will keep trying to bring student loan borrowers a financial break.
“The Department of Education is working on a very public process to write new rules to provide additional relief to folks within their authority. We're going to keep working hard at this. And the president has been clear that he's not taking his foot off the gas,” said Donenburg.
Mitchell, the physical therapist from West Palm Beach, is keeping tabs on what forgiveness measures the administration passes, but he has not found another one he is eligible for. He feels like repaying his loans has made him lag behind in other areas of his life.
"I’ve always thought to myself, like, this is kind of a dumb way to set up our economy," said Mitchell. "You know, the youth of the nation is just saddled with massive debt, and we’re delayed, you know, starting a family, buying a house — like all these milestones that I do feel a little bit behind on.”
Mitchell said he would credit Biden if any upcoming measures apply to him but said he’s not holding his breath.
“I'm firmly in the acceptance phase,” Mitchell said. “I try to make extra payments because it's just wise. I'm trying to pay it off early. It's not a fun thing to think about, like how much money I've thrown towards it and how much of those payments were just interest.”
Erasing debt
Shortly after Biden’s $400 million plan was blocked in 2023, more than 804,000 borrowers under income-driven repayment plans were told their loans would be erased. The plans aimed to help low-income earners manage their loans and erase them completely after 20 to 25 years of regular payments.
The administration said the plans were not giving borrowers the forgiveness they qualified for, citing historical inaccuracies in their payment counts. Their one-time “payment count adjustment” erased the debt for those qualified.
Trevor Storrod, an aircraft inspector in Pompano Beach, was a borrower who qualified for the adjustment. Months after applying, his loans became a thing of the past.
"I was so happy,” Storrod said. “Finally. Thank God this is over.”
Storrod, 55, took out $18,000 to get his airframe and powerplant certification in 1996, and began paying off his balance in 2001.
"That's almost half my life paying a student loan that should have been paid off a long time ago,” said Storrod.
He hopes the administration is successful in canceling more debt so others can get the help that he did.
“For them, it will be so good,” said Storrod, “where they won’t be stuck in debt for the rest of their lives.”
