(The Hill) – President Joe Biden plans to move forward with student loan debt forgiveness, with two sources telling The Hill he plans to take steps to erase at least $10,000 per borrower.
Debt cancellation would be through executive action and follows the president asking the Department of Education to review his authority to act unilaterally on student loans a year ago, the results of which have yet to be heard. have not been publicly announced.
Bloomberg first reported that Biden plans to forgive at least $10,000 in student loans per borrower, citing people familiar with the matter.
“But the door has been opened to maybe bigger,” a source told The Hill. “Lots of options on the table. They’re listening a lot right now.
The source added that no timetable has yet been set as to when the president will act.
The 2020 campaign chairman backed canceling at least $10,000 in federal student loans per person, while other members of his party, including Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (DN.Y .), demanded $50,000 per borrower or to write off the debt entirely.
Biden earlier this week said he was “seriously considering” canceling some student debt, adding that he was not considering the $50,000 debt reduction. Press secretary Jen Psaki also said this week that the White House is still considering whether Biden can unilaterally write off student loan debt.
Majority Whip James Clyburn (DS.C.) told The Hill in an interview Friday that he would support Biden’s $10,000 figure as a first step.
“I would see that as a good first step,” Clyburn said. “Anything he feels comfortable doing, fine. And I’m going to do what I feel comfortable doing.
The congressman, whose endorsement helped secure Biden’s 2020 Democratic nomination, has been an influential and important confidant in the president’s inner circle. He is pushing for a legislative avenue of up to $50,000 in student debt forgiveness with prominent progressives in the House and Senate, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
“I’m not going to be comfortable with just $10,000,” he said.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration extended the pandemic moratorium on federal student loan payments and interest accrual through August. Loan repayments were first suspended in March 2020, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, under then-President Trump, and the moratorium has been extended several times since.
Biden has come under pressure to go beyond the moratorium and cancel the debt. The White House also said the president would sign legislation canceling student debt if Congress passes a bill.