3 ways Biden is budgeting for 'better support to student-loan borrowers' without the debt forgiveness he pledged

• Biden's budget proposal included $2.7 billion to "provide better support to student-loan borrowers."
• It proposed improving the income-driven repayment plan and the public-service forgiveness program.

President Joe Biden proposed some aid for student-loan borrowers in his budget, but the debt cancellation many were hoping for didn't make the cut.

On Monday, Biden unveiled his $5.8 trillion budget request, which included proposals to tax billionaires, fund the police, and invest in combating the climate crisis. Education also received an $88.3 billion funding request — a $15.3 billion increase from 2021 — with a significant portion of that funding recommended to go toward K-12 education.

With regards to higher education, Biden proposed a "historic" doubling of the maximum Pell Grant award, increasing funding for historically Black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions by $752 million, and giving the Federal Student Aid office $2.7 billion in funding to "provide better support to student-loan borrowers."

"Across the country, we must focus our efforts on recovery. That means ensuring all students — especially those from underserved communities and those most impacted by the pandemic — receive the resources they need to thrive," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. "Importantly, this budget also invests in access to affordable higher education and the creation of stronger pathways that meet the demands of our workforce and connect students to well-paying jobs and fulfilling careers."

Here are the three ways the department proposed helping student-loan borrowers:

1. Improving customer support for student-loan companies.
2. Ensuring that borrowers who must switch student-loan companies because of servicers shutting down have a "successful transition" and "more stable long-term" contracts.
3. And working with Congress on changes to the Higher Education Act that ease the burden of student debt, including through improvements to the Income Driven Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs."

Flaws with student-loan company contracts and customer support are undoubtedly issues many borrowers have struggled with. Some reported hours-long wait times for assistance in paying off their student-debt loads. But the broad student-loan forgiveness that Biden campaigned on remains unfulfilled, even as lawmakers and advocates say debt forgiveness is the best way to get immediate relief to federal borrowers.

While Biden has extended the pause on student-loan payments three times, along with canceling debt for targeted groups of borrowers, payments are set to resume on May 1. The president is under increasing pressure to either extend that pause a fourth time or cancel student debt. For example, Patty Murray, the chair of the Senate education committee, proposed extending the pause until 2023 to give Biden time to "permanently fix" the student-loan industry, including broken loan-forgiveness programs.

"Everything we are asking to be done can be done at an administrative level," Murray told reporters last week. "That is the quickest way to get this moving. And we are encouraging them, asking them, begging them to please do that."

The proposals included in Biden's budget need congressional approval to be enacted, so the higher-education proposals are not set in stone. But they do reflect the priorities of the administration. This is the second year that the budget has lacked broad student-loan relief, which suggests the White House may be sticking to its messaging that it's in Congress' hands to pass a bill to cancel student debt.