According to Senator Chuck Schumer, President-elect Joe Biden is considering forgiving $50K for student loan borrowers.
Schumer made the announcement Monday during a press conference also attended by Democratic Congressman-elect Ritchie Torres, Mondaire Jones, and Jamaal Bowman of New York. The Senate minority leader declared that Biden is considering canceling $50,000 of student loans for every student loan borrower.
Read More: Student loan payments suspended through the end of January 2021
“These folks have great futures but they’re burdened by debt and we want to remove it,” Schumer stated.
The New York lawmaker added that he has spoken to President-elect Biden about the matter. He continued with, “I have told him how important it is, and he is considering it.”
Furthermore, he added that he has “come to the conclusion” that Biden can “forgive $50,000 of debt the first day he becomes president.”
He predicted that Biden could bypass Congress and make the mandate go into effect with an executive order.
“You don’t need Congress, all you need is the flick of a pen, and President-elect Biden — then President Biden — can make this happen,” Schumer said.
Schumer explained that this measure would help the 45 million student loan borrowers and owe $1.5 trillion in debt. This plan is geared towards the middle class and lower-income students. The limit would be those who have an income higher than $125,000.
“This debt is a huge burden on the backs of our students standing in the way of them and their economy and it stays with them for a very long time,” he said.
Read More: Education department extends suspension of student loan payments through 2020
The senator also addressed the concerns of those who “made sacrifices to pay off student loans” and responded that this would be for society’s betterment.
“Lots of students paid off student loans but it’s such a burden it’s good for everybody to make sure that this debt is vanquished,” he said. “It’s never been this high.”
Schumer cited that he paid $1,700 for his college education but that students these days take on more of a financial burden.
“People can’t afford it now,” he stated.
Bowman also declared that it was “flat out wrong” that there was not yet relief for the $1.6 trillion in student debt.
Read More: Joe Biden proposes forgiving student loans, targets HBCU attendees in plan
“But the Biden administration has the power to do something about that and can act even if Republicans in the Senate choose to ignore the problem. Forgiving $50,000 in student debt will change young people’s lives, particularly for Black young people, who hold far more student loan debt than their White peers.”
Jones similarly insisted that student debt relief was a matter of urgency.
“Forgiving student debt would liberate millions of Americans to participate meaningfully in our economy through homeownership and entrepreneurship, and it would be a critical step toward racial, generational, and economic justice.”
theGrio recently reported that The Trump administration canceling student loan payments through next January. A moratorium on payments was placed earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and an extension was granted due to the continuing financial hardships.
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