Overwhelming support for some federal student loan forgiveness: poll

The overwhelming majority of voters support some kind of student loan forgiveness, according to a new poll. 

The poll, conducted by Morning Consult and Politico, showed that 64 percent of respondents supported some form of student loan forgiveness.

Specifically, 19 percent said they would support the federal government forgiving student loans for all Americans. Another 16 percent said they supported some student loan forgiveness for all.

The survey found that 13 percent of respondents supported total student loan forgiveness for low-income Americans, and 16 percent supported some forgiveness for this group. 

Meanwhile, 29 percent said they did not know, and 7 percent said they had no opinion. 

Notably, 80 percent of participants in the poll said they had no student loan debt. Eight percent had less than $20,000 in debt, 7 percent had between $20,000 and $49,999, and 3 percent had between $50,000 and $99,999.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration extended a freeze on student loans through the end of August.

“To enable Americans to continue to get back on their feet after two of the hardest years this nation has ever faced, my Administration is extending the pause on federal student loan repayments through August 31st, 2022. That additional time will assist borrowers in achieving greater financial security and support the Department of Education’s efforts to continue improving student loan programs,” Biden said in a statement at the time.

Prior to that announcement, the pause on loan payments was set to expire on May 1 after being on hold since March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. It was conducted from April 8 to April 11 and included 2,005 registered voters.