President Joe Biden Suggests To Forgive Student Loan Debt; Will You Qualify?

In a private meeting with House Democrats, President Joe Biden allegedly suggested he's considering the cancellation of some student loan debt.

As a result, Senate Republicans are planning to introduce legislation that would restrict the president from acting alone on the issue. According to NBC News, the president has received pleas from members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to extend the payment moratorium on student loans and to eliminate at least $10,000 in student loan debt for millions of borrowers. The student loan payment moratorium has been extended till the end of August.

Will Joe Biden Cancel All Student Loan Debt?

In accordance with congressional aide, the president appeared to be more willing to forgive some federal student loan debt. While the president stated that he is likely to take action, he did not specify a dollar number or a time frame. The president's remarks come as progressive politicians and campaigners continue to press for the cancellation of student loans, with some calling for the president to erase $50,000 or more in debt and take unilateral action.

The Senate Majority Leader is Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY). He's been insistent about it, and the president is getting closer to acting on the student loan debt crisis, according to him. In the United States, student loan debt is presently $1.73 trillion, as per PennLive.

Joe Biden talked with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Tuesday, where they discussed a potential plan to cancel a major portion of student loan debt. The claim comes after the US Department of Education stated that under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program, 40,000 students' federal student loan debt will be forgiven immediately, citing chronic flaws in the administration of federal student loan programs.

While it is unclear who would be eligible for student loan forgiveness right now, California Democratic Representative Tony Cardenas told CBS News that Biden indicated an openness to forgiving student loan debt for federal students who attended either a private or public university.

Cardenas said that Biden did not indicate a precise sum that he would consider canceling and that the president did not suggest that he was going to wipe off all student debt. Cardenas further mentioned that Biden was very enthusiastic about Cardenas' request that he eliminate $10,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower.

If Biden decides to take action to erase student loan debt, he might follow in the footsteps of his administration, which relieved 40,000 debtors earlier this month. Teachers, military personnel, and healthcare employees with ten years of federal loan payments were all given immediate relief under this measure. In addition, the proposal gave 3.6 million debtors at least three years of credit toward IDR forgiveness.

The federal government has continued to freeze federal student loan payments since the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden extended the pause to August 31st earlier this month. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, was questioned about Biden possibly erasing all student debts at a news briefing on Monday, Newsweek via MSN reported.

Sen. Romney Blasts Joe Biden's Proposal

Senator Mitt Romney took to Twitter on Wednesday to oppose Democratic ideas to cancel student loan debt after President Joe Biden's announcement this week that he would seek to erase some student debt. The Utah Republican and 2012 GOP presidential contender speculated that Biden's action was made to boost his low support rating before the midterm elections in November.

Biden endorsed partial student loan forgiveness during his 2020 campaign but has failed to move beyond extending a moratorium on student loan payments imposed by then-President Donald Trump during the coronavirus outbreak. On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of Senate Republicans led by Minority Whip John Thune presented legislation to prevent Biden from delaying or canceling payments. The moratorium will remain in effect until August 31.

Last year, Romney and Arizona Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema submitted a plan that they claimed would make college more accessible for more students by establishing educational savings accounts with some matched money, based on a similar Arizona scheme, according to Washington Examiner.