VP Kamala Harris in Philly to tout Biden administration’s latest student debt relief proposal

Vice President Kamala Harris listens to a roundtable conversation at William Cramp Elementary School in Philadelphia April 8, 2024 (Capital-Star photo by John Cole)

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Vice President Kamala Harris visited a school in Philadelphia on Monday to highlight the Biden administration’s latest student debt forgiveness proposal.

“The president and I continue to do, and will do, much more to build on this work,” Harris said during the roundtable at William Cramp Elementary School. “We want to create incentives for people to acquire the kinds of skills like the professionals at this table have, to do the work that they do, that benefits so many others and benefits all of us as a nation.”

Biden announced the latest plan in a trip to swing state Wisconsin on Monday. The plan would include a one-time cancellation of all accrued interest for 23 million borrowers, cancel the full amount of student loan debt for 4 million borrowers, and provide at least $5,000 in student debt relief for more than 10 million borrowers.

“President Biden will use every tool available to cancel student loan debt for as many borrowers as possible, no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stand in his way,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.

Harris was joined by U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Philadelphia) and an elementary school teacher in Philadelphia, a nurse at a Philadelphia elementary school, and a social worker with the city’s Department of Human Services to promote this latest initiative to forgive student loan debt.

Harris’s visit was part of a larger push by the Biden administration to highlight the plan, which saw Harris’s spouse, second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, visit Phoenix, Arizona, and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona traveling to New York City to meet with borrowers who had benefited from student debt relief, the White House said.

Although younger voters support proposals to cancel student loan debt, the Biden administration’s efforts have received pushback in the courts. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Biden administration did not have the legal authority to enact a student debt program aimed at assisting 40 million Americans.

According to the Federal Reserve, about 43.5 million Americans have student loan debt, which totals $1.73 trillion.

Monday is Harris’ 12th visit to the Keystone State since being sworn in and her second appearance so far in 2024.

In February, Harris visited Pittsburgh to highlight the Biden administration’s $5.8 billion funding towards lead pipe removal and clean water projects. The funding for that project, which includes more than $200 million in Pennsylvania, is part of the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

As the 2024 general election begins to heat up, the Biden campaign has placed a particular focus on the eastern half of the commonwealth.

Biden’s visited Pennsylvania four times so far this year. He was in Philadelphia on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, delivered two different campaign speeches in the Philadelphia suburbs, and made one appearance in the Lehigh Valley to visit small businesses.

Trump has made two appearances in the commonwealth so far this year and will be returning this weekend. Trump delivered a keynote address at a National Rifle Association forum in Harrisburg and unveiled a new line of shoes at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia.

On Saturday, Trump is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser in Bucks County and a rally in the Lehigh Valley.

Recent polling shows Biden and Trump in a close race to capture the Keystone State’s 19 electoral votes.

This story was updated at 5:35 p.m. April 8, 2024 with details from the vice president’s event.

This story was published earlier by the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, an affiliate of the nonprofit States Newsroom network, which includes the Florida Phoenix.

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