Biden asked to Extend Student Loan Pause, Grant Debt Forgiveness
HAVANA TIMES – Activists and a number of Democratic lawmakers are urging President Biden to reconsider his decision to restart federal student loan payments in February. The loans were suspended for nearly two years due to the pandemic. On Tuesday, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki about Biden’s campaign pledge to cancel $10,000 of student loan debt per borrower.
Reporter: “What is the message to those people who feel that he’s yet to follow through on that promise?”
Press Secretary Jen Psaki: “If Congress sends him a bill, he’s happy to sign it. They haven’t sent him a bill on that yet.”
A growing number of Democrats have backed debt cancellation of up to $50,000 per borrower. California Congressmember Ro Khanna said failing to act on student loans could harm Democrats in the midterms, and tweeted Wednesday, “Resuming student loan payments … could hurt our economic recovery and the effectiveness of the American Rescue Plan. Canceling student loan debt for the working and middle class isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s good policy.”