Although it’s often left off the debate stage, student loan debt is one of America’s most pressing issues. At this point, national student loan debt has reached nearly $1.6 trillion dollars, surpassing both credit card and auto loan debt. 

Roughly 70 percent of students have to take out loans to pay for college. And after graduation, the average borrower owes more than $37,000. But their wallets aren’t the only things to be worried about. Student debt greatly impacts the economy, as it hinders young people’s ability to buy a home, start a business or be an active consumer.

Here’s a look at how the current 2020 presidential candidates will address this mounting economic problem.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

Sanders is the only candidate who would forgive all $1.6 trillion in student loan debt, including both private and federal student loans. 

To pay for it, Sanders plans to implement a Wall Street tax on stock transactions, bond trades and derivatives transactions. He expects the tax could collect more than $2 trillion over the course of 10 years.

“Under our legislation to cancel all $1.6 trillion of student debt, the economy would get a boost of approximately $1 trillion over the next decade and up to 1.6 million new jobs would be created each year,” Sanders wrote in an article published in Fortune. “At the same time, millions of Americans would have the financial resources they need to buy new homes, buy new cars, or open up small businesses.”

To read Bernie Sanders’ positions on higher education and other key issues, click here.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) 

Warren has pledged to eliminate up to $50,000 of student loan debt for 95 percent of borrowers on the very first day of her presidency. She could do this, she claims, because she wouldn’t need approval from Congress. 

In a blog post, Warren explained she would cut the debt using the legal authority granted through the Higher Education Act, which gives the Department of Education the power to “modify, compromise, waive, or release student loans.” 

The Department of Education, she wrote, “already has broad legal authority to cancel student debt, and we can’t afford to wait for Congress to act. So I will start to use existing laws on day one of my presidency to implement my student loan debt cancellation plan that offers relief to 42 million Americans.”

To read Elizabeth Warren’s positions on higher education and other key issues, click here.

Andrew Yang, NY Entrepreneur

As a borrower himself, Yang understands how student loans can hamper a young person’s ability to finance their adult life. He is in support of increasing student loan forgiveness efforts to help those who have already graduated from college. He also wants colleges to be more transparent about their students’ post-graduation debt and salary figures.

Specifically, if elected president, Yang has vowed to propose a “Student Loan Emancipation Act,” in which the federal government would buy all student loan debt, and borrowers would then pay the federal government 10 percent of their annual salary until they have paid off their loans. If they still owe money after 10 years, their loans will be forgiven.

Additionally, as part of his long list of suggestions, Yang has committed to ask colleges and universities to forgive some, or all, of the loans taken out by students who failed to graduate. He also has proposed allowing students to discharge their student loan debt through bankruptcy, which he believes will force lenders to work with students “in good faith.”

To read Andrew Yang’s positions on higher education and other key issues, click here.

Joe Biden, Former U.S. Vice President 

Compared to Warren and Sanders, the former Vice President takes a more moderate approach to solving the student loan crisis. He won’t forgive all student loans, but instead would simplify income-driven repayment plans. 

Under a Biden presidency, graduates making less than $25,000 won’t have any student loan payments and won’t accrue any interest on their loans. Everyone else will pay no more than 5 percent of their discretionary income towards loans. And after 20 years, those who’ve “responsibly made payments,” will see the remainder of their loans forgiven. 

To read Joe Biden’s positions on higher education and other key issues, click here.

Pete Buttigieg, Former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana 

If elected, Buttigieg would become the first U.S. president to owe student loan debt. So, this issue is personal to him, he often explains.

However, Buttigieg does not seem to believe there should be widespread student debt cancellation, largely due to the cost. He does have some ideas, though, to help out borrowers, including allowing students to refinance their loans, expanding public service loan forgiveness, pausing student loan repayments for some military spouses, and making it easier for teachers and public servants to have their loans forgiven. 

To read Pete Buttigieg’s positions on higher education and other key issues, click here.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) 

Like her more moderate colleagues, Klobuchar is not a proponent of eliminating all student loan debt. Instead, she supports steps like student loan refinancing that would allow student loan borrowers to lower their rates to about 3 percent. 

Klobuchar has also suggested expanding the public service loan forgiveness program to those working in “in-demand” occupations. Currently, it’s only available to those working at nonprofit organizations and other public service jobs. 

To read Amy Klobuchar’s positions on higher education and other key issues, click here.

Michael Bloomberg, Former NYC Mayor

Although Bloomberg hasn’t yet announced a definitive stance on student loans, he’s been quite outspoken in the past about the costs of college and how it favors affluent students. In 2018, Bloomberg gave $1.8 billion to his alma mater Johns Hopkins and devoted it exclusively to financial aid. It is the largest-ever contribution to an academic institution in American history.

Bloomberg’s foundation, titled Bloomberg Philanthropies, has already counseled close to 50,000 low- and middle-income students about their college options and helped them with the financial aid process through an initiative called CollegePoint.

And by way of the American Talent Initiative, which Bloomberg Philanthropies founded several years ago, more than 100 colleges — both private and public — have begun admitting and graduating more low- and middle-income students.

“Together, the federal and state governments should make a new commitment to improving access to college and reducing the often prohibitive burdens debt places on so many students and families,” Bloomberg wrote in an op-ed published in the New York Times.

To read more about Michael Bloomberg’s positions on higher education, click here.

Tom Steyer, Former Hedge Fund Manager

Steyer does not yet have a definitive plan to solve student loan debt. However, he has made statements in the past that shed light to his philosophy on the issue. 

“Student loans are crushing over 44 million Americans with $1.5 TRILLION in debt,” Steyer tweeted in 2019. “Not only is this harming a whole generation, it’s dragging down our economy. Borrowers deserve protections against abusive practices — a borrower’s bill of rights.” 

Steyer has also gone after Secretary of Education Betsy Devos for failing to forgive disabled veterans their student loan debts, which he claims the Department of Education is required to do. 

“Secretary Betsy DeVos has resisted enforcing this law and instead is making veterans undergo a difficult process to get relief,” he states on his website. “Getting a quality education shouldn’t be a burden, especially for the veterans who have sacrificed so much. Add your name if you think education is a right.”

President Donald Trump

Trump suggests creating one uniform student loan repayment plan, in which borrowers would pay a monthly fee of 12.5 percent of their discretionary income.

Trump also suggests eliminating the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. If his budget is approved, undergraduate loans would be forgiven after 15 years of payment, and graduate school loans would be forgiven after 30 years.

To read Donald Trump’s positions on higher education and other key issues, click here.