President Joe Biden took steps toward making good on a campaign promise to tackle student loan debt this spring. The move, however, faced critics from the left, with some saying the president had not gone far enough to help debt-burdened graduates, and the right, which argued that the government should not waive student debt. In March, the Biden administration announced that it would cancel $1 billion in student loan debt for 72,000 borrowers who attended schools that closed abruptly or that used illegal or deceptive practices. The move streamlined the process for borrowers applying for assistance after a Trump-era policy…

The Biden administration moved to help middle-income families with an expanded child tax credit included in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that passed Congress in March. The American Rescue Plan increased the child tax credit from $2,000 to $3,600 per child under age six and $3,000 per child between the ages of 6 and 17 for one year. The credit will also be 100% refundable for one year. Half of the credit would be paid directly to families starting in July 2021, rather than being solely a credit applied to a family’s annual tax bill. (Although the American Rescue…