President Biden in the coming weeks is expected to decide whether to put forward a student-loan forgiveness plan aimed in part at motivating young voters to cast ballots in November’s elections, the Wall Street Journal reported. At the University of North Carolina, and in neighborhoods across the surrounding Research Triangle area, there are signs that whatever approach he takes could leave swaths of voters dissatisfied. Students and recent graduates with heavy debt loads worry that Mr. Biden’s plan will be too weak, after the president and his advisers signaled they are considering relief that could be far less than the $50,000-per-borrower sought by prominent Democrats. At the same time, voters who tightened their belts to pay off their loans or didn’t go to college say it would be unfair to make taxpayers subsidize school debt for Americans whose education can boost their earning power. A moratorium on student-loan payments that started at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic is set to expire at the end of August just as the thick of the campaign season gets under way. Read more. (Subscription required.)
The Congressional Black Caucus is requesting a meeting with President Joe Biden to press the case that cancelling student-loan debt is a racial equality issue, Bloomberg News reported. “This is a crisis created through policy decisions, and we have a responsibility to address it head-on,” Black Caucus Chair Joyce Beatty said in a statement Friday. “Canceling student loan debt is one of the most impactful ways to address ongoing economic and racial inequities plaguing our nation.” The caucus is the latest group of Democratic lawmakers seeking to put pressure on the president to use his executive authority to forgive at least some student loan debt ahead of the midterm elections. Progressive lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Ayanna Pressley, have pushed Biden to cancel at least $50,000 in student loan debt per person. That figure is also supported by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Raphael Warnock. Read more.
