Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, along with other Democratic legislators, reintroduced a resolution calling on the White House to forgive $50,000 in student debt for all borrowers by executive action, per Business Insider.
At a virtual town meeting, Warren called for President Joe Biden to do the right thing.
- “Canceling $50,000 of student-loan debt would give 36 million Americans permanent total relief,” Warren said. “That would be the end of their debt burden. And it would aid millions more by significantly reducing the principal on their debt.”
Schumer also took the stage to talk about the importance of student debt relief.
- “During a time of historic and overlapping crises, which are disproportionately impacting communities of color, we must do everything in our power to deliver real relief to the American people, lift up our struggling economy and close the racial wealth gap,” Schumer said in a statement, per CNBC.
Biden did not include any debt forgiveness in the outline for the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package, per the report. Now, members of his own party are calling on him to take action.
The pause on student debt is set to expire on Feb. 1, as I previously reported for the Deseret News.
According to CNBC, about 43 million Americans owe an estimated total of $1.6 trillion in outstanding student loans.