A group of democratic legislators led by the leader of the Senate majority Charles Schumer
Chuck SchumerSenate Appoints First Black Senate Secretary ENERGY Overnight: Senate Committee Advances Granholm Candidate to Lead Energy | EPA candidate Regan promises “urgency” for climate change at confirmation hearing | Omar calls on Biden to block pipeline construction in Minnesota Biden approval stands at 49% in new Quinnipiac poll MORE (NY) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren: Leading Democrats urge Yellen to crack down on dark money groups On The Money: Biden calls for Dems and urges big COVID bill | Biden’s SEC choice of offside as the GameStop drama unfolds Bezos resigns as CEO of Amazon Overnight Defense: Pentagon chief expels hundreds of advisory panels The defense selection discusses the obstacles to Trump ‘s transition Aircraft carrier returning home after 10 months of deployment MORE (Mass.) He reintroduced on Thursday a measure requiring President Biden to forgive up to $ 50,000 in student debt for a federally owned borrower.
The resolution of Schumer, Warren, and Democratic representatives. Ayanna Pressley
Ayanna PressleyHouse Democrats Press Biden on Vaccine Distribution for People of Color Colored Communities lag behind in vaccine deployment Lawmakers remember actress Cicely Tyson MORE (Mass), Ilhan Omar
Ilhan OmarHouse approves budget resolution for COVID-19 ENERGY package Overnight: Senate committee advances Granholm candidacy to lead Energy | EPA candidate Regan promises “urgency” for climate change at confirmation hearing | Omar asks Biden to block the construction of gas pipelines in Minnesota. Omar points out that the GOP “launders” the false equivalence with Greene MORE (Minn.), Alma Adams
Alma Shealey Adams: Number of Black Women Elected to Congress in 2020 An Armed Trump Supporter Arrested at North Carolina Electoral College From HBCU to Capitol Hill: How Congress Can Play an Important Role MORE (NC) and Mondaire Jones (New York) are not legally binding, but would serve as a formal endorsement by Congress of a popular but polarizing progressive proposal. A similar resolution was introduced in the previous Congress.
“We won’t let go until we get it, until the $ 50,000 debts for each student in the country are forgiven,” Schumer said during a news conference Thursday. “Let’s do it right.”
Biden has faced growing pressure from progressives and borrower advocates to unilaterally end a massive $ 1.6 trillion portion in federal government student loan debts, which have more than 43 million people.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki
Jen PsakiOn The Money: Biden promises to make 400 checks, but open to eligibility limits | The House approves the budget resolution for the COVID-19 package McConnell tries to cause political pain in budget votes Overnight Health Care: Biden pledges to do 400 checks, but open to eligibility limits | CDC Director: Teacher Vaccination “Not Prerequisite” for Safe School Reopening | Coronavirus infections and falling hospitalizations Psaki seeks to clarify Biden’s comment by praising the “vast majority” of FBI agents MORE he reiterated Biden’s previous support for student debt relief by $ 10,000 per borrower through legislation, but questioned whether he would take executive action to do so if Congress does not send him a bill.
“Debt relief is, of course, a top priority for the president,” Psaki said, adding that Biden extended a truce imposed by Trump on student loan payments and the accrual of federally owned interest. until the hours of September after his investiture.
“[Biden] “On the first day he already took a step through executive action and would go to Congress to take the next steps,” Psaki added.
Proponents argue that Biden has the authority and responsibility to forgive student debt, as the coronavirus pandemic hits the U.S. economy and places the heaviest burden on those who are least able to pay it.
“Data show that student loan debt cancellation would result in higher property rates, more housing stability, better credit scores, higher incomes, more GDP, more small business training and more jobs said Warren, who in December said Biden has a “moral obligation” to eliminate student loan debt.
“Canceling student loan debt is good for you, whether you have debt or not, because it’s good for our economy,” Warren said.
Supporters of debt forgiveness say it would also help reduce the racial wealth gap, given the relatively higher rates. delinquency of student loan among black and Hispanic borrowers.
“The student debt crisis has always been a matter of racial and economic justice, but for too long, the narrative has excluded black and latin communities and the ways in which this debt has aggravated the racial and economic inequities deeply rooted in our nation, ”said Pressley, a member of the House Financial Services Committee.
The resolution calls on Biden to instruct the secretary of education to use the provisions of the Higher Education Act and forgive up to $ 50,000 in debt per borrower. He also asks Biden to order the IRS to waive taxes on canceled loans, as forgiven debt is usually treated as taxable income in the U.S.
The proposed plan in the resolution would be deleted about 80 percent according to an analysis by Beacon Policy Advisors, a DC research firm.
Adopting the resolution would be a major symbolic victory for debt forgiveness advocates and could help increase pressure on Biden to stay the same.
Still, Biden already fired Republicans for signing dozens of executive actions shortly after taking office and would likely be excoriated by the Republican Party for pushing a massive debt forgiveness plan on its own.
Economists are divided on the potential benefits of the breadth of loan forgiveness, as even some liberal analysts argue that ending student loans is not the most effective way to stimulate the economy.
It is also debated whether the secretary of education has the legal power to forgive student debt. Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos
Betsy DeVos: Former Trump officials find the hard work market intensifying the apology conversation as Trump approaches the last 24 hours in the office. he considered whether he had the authority to forgive student loan debt during the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in March, but Trump administration lawyers determined it would be illegal, according to a note released last month.
Schumer, however, expressed confidence that supporters of debt forgiveness could push enough momentum to convince Biden to forgive a certain amount of debt. Schumer added that he and Warren discussed the issue with Biden and his economic advisers several weeks ago and that the president did not oppose his campaign.
“When we started this, I told the president that we would try to bring together the American people to support him when he decided (hopefully) to do so. And he had no problem with that,” Schumer said .
Updated at 12:24 p.m.