Two top Senate Democrats said yesterday that they will keep pressuring President Joe Biden to wipe out up to $50,000 per borrower in student loan debt after he shot down the idea of doing so by executive action or without restrictions, Bloomberg News reported. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Elizabeth Warren for months have been pushing Biden to be more ambitious with executive action to cancel about $1 trillion in student loans, and they said they aren’t giving up. “Canceling $50,000 in federal student loan debt will help close the racial wealth gap, benefit the 40% of borrowers who do not have a college degree, and help stimulate the economy. It’s time to act. We will keep fighting,” they said in a statement. Biden appeared to dismiss the idea during a CNN town hall event in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. In response to a question from an audience member, Biden said he understood that debt can be debilitating and he would support some relief. “I do think that, in this moment of economic pain and strain, that we should be eliminating interest on the debts that are accumulated, number one. And, number two, I’m prepared to write off the $10,000 debt, but not” $50,000, he said. He suggested that there could be a system “to work it off” with public service jobs. Biden also said he didn’t think he had the authority to write off a larger amount through executive action. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that Biden’s statement reiterated his previous position that he “doesn’t favor $50,000 student loan relief without limitation.” Psaki said Biden’s stance has been that relief above the $10,000 level should be targeted based on criteria such as income, the kind of debt, whether it was incurred at a public school, whether it was undergraduate or graduate debt. Biden has told Schumer and Warren that once his Justice Department team has been confirmed, he will ask them to review his authority to grant relief via executive action in conjunction with a policy review by his Domestic Policy Council, Psaki said. She said in the meantime Biden would be “eager” to sign a bill from Congress granting $10,000 in debt relief for borrowers. Schumer and Warren said previous presidents have used executive actions to grant relief. “The Biden administration has said it is reviewing options for canceling up to $50,000 in student debt by executive action, and we are confident they will agree with the standards Obama and Trump used,” they said.
