Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are pushing Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to cancel up to $50,000 per person of student loan debt to stimulate the economy shortly after he’s elected without waiting for Congress.
“Broadly canceling student loan debt will improve the lives of tens of millions of Americans,” said Warren, who authored a resolution to do away with the debt. “It would give a huge boost to our economy as well.”
Schumer, whose support suggests some buy-in among Senate moderates for the proposal, said the two have talked with Biden about it.
Under the proposal, borrowers who make less than $100,000 a year could have as much as $50,000 worth of student loan debt canceled. Smaller amounts of debt would be canceled on a sliding scale for people making up to $250,000 a year. Warren, who ran in the Democratic primary against Biden, said that canceling $50,000 of loans would wipe out all student debt for 75% of Americans.
The proposal is more generous than Biden’s campaign plan, which would forgive debt from public schools and historically Black colleges for borrowers earning up to $125,000. His plan wouldn’t cancel the debt, but instead require the federal government to make monthly payments until the forgivable portion was repaid. Trump has suspended student loan payments and reset interest rates to zero until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but borrowers will still have to repay the loans.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.