Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., And House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, DS.C. Tuesday 23 July 2019.
Bill Clark | CQ Appeal, Inc. | Getty Images
Senator Elizabeth Warren persists in her campaign to get President Joe Biden to cancel student debt.
The Massachusetts Democrat and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., have urged members of the presidential party to cancel up to $ 50,000 in student loans per borrower. Warren renewed pressure on Biden Thursday as his administration debated whether he would have the power to reduce debt with the stroke of a pen.
“This is something the President can do and Leader Schumer and I are working hard to make it happen,” the Senator told the Washington Post at an event.
Biden has questioned whether he can or should use executive action to relieve the student loan burden of millions of borrowers. He has called on lawmakers to pass laws that would cancel debts of up to $ 10,000 and make higher education more affordable.
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Some Democrats have pushed Biden into lending to stimulate the economy, relieve borrowers by around $ 1.7 trillion, and disproportionately burden Black and Latin American Americans. Warren called debt relief “the only thing Joe Biden himself could do to fill the black and white wealth gap.”
The measure would apply to federal government loans but not to private lender loans. Warren said the government did not need to raise taxes in order for Biden to cancel student debts through executive action. (Congress has the power to raise or lower taxes.)
Last month, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said Biden would make a decision on whether to grant loans after reviewing an awaited memo from Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. The document would outline the president’s legal authority.
A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request to comment on whether Biden received the memo or when he expected a decision.
Biden has signaled that he does not want to cancel up to $ 50,000 in student debt. He reiterated critics of widespread termination, saying it would disproportionately benefit borrowers who went into debt while earning higher degrees – which is generally associated with higher revenues.
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