By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia
Despite charges from Republicans and other opponents, President Joe Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan appears to be a hit with Black voters.
HIT Strategies, which bills itself as the only millennial and minority-owned public opinion research firm, found that approval ratings for Biden and Congressional Democrats rose from 79% up to 82%, after the announcement of debt forgiveness.
The researchers found that 56% of Black voters believe Biden has made progress on issues affecting Black voters, an increase of 12 points since July.
Sent out via an online opt-in panel from September 15-19 (with a margin of error of +/-3.1%), the survey revealed that 86% of Black voters support President Biden’s loan forgiveness plan, including 60% “strongly support” the policy.
“President Biden’s debt relief plan represents another promise kept on one of the most critical economic priorities for Black voters,” said Terrance Woodbury, a co-founder of HIT Strategies, in a statement.
“Now, the President must directly message this plan to voters and continue to illustrate how his policies improve the economic well-being of Black America,” Woodbury said.
An estimated 165,900 borrowers from the District of Columbia are eligible for student loan relief under President Joe Biden’s recent loan forgiveness plan, including 60,300 Pell Grant recipients.
In Virginia, 965,100 borrowers are eligible for aid, including 566,500 Pell Grant recipients. In Maryland, 747,100 enjoy eligibility, including 419,400 Pell Grant recipients.
State-by-state data released last month by the U.S. Department of Education estimated that more than 40 million borrowers nationwide could benefit from a student loan relief plan, and nearly 20 million could. g will see their remaining balance disappear.
In August, Biden announced his plan to forgive borrowers up to $10,000 in loan payments and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients.
“The Biden Administration’s student loan relief plan will help borrowers and families recover from the pandemic and prepare to resume student loan payments in January 2023,” administration officials said.
They say about 90% of relief dollars will go to those making less than $75,000 per year – and no relief will go to any individual or household in the top 5% of income in the United States. .
Officials said that by targeting relief to borrowers with the highest economic need, the administration’s actions are likely to help narrow the racial wealth gap as well.
The White House noted that nearly 71% of Black undergraduate borrowers are Pell Grant recipients, and 65% of Latino undergraduate borrowers are Pell Grant recipients.
Additionally, HIT Strategies said Biden’s plan should help Democrats in the November 8 midterm elections.
Researchers found that the number of Black voters who said they would vote in the midterm elections rose from 79% to 82% since last month.
Additionally, the number of Black voters who believe their vote has the power to effect change on issues important to them has increased from 64% to 67% since last month.
“During the campaign, President Biden promised to pay off student loans,” administration officials said.
“The Biden Administration is following through on that promise and giving families a breather as they prepare to start paying off loans after the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.”
