President Biden Says He’s Looking At Forgiving Some Federal Student Loan Debt
President Joe Biden is looking at different options to forgive a substantial amount of federal student loan debt.
During a 90-minute White House meeting on Monday (April 25) with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the president shared his plans that could affect more than 43 million borrowers who hold more than $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt, though the amount being relieved is currently unspecified.
According to CBS News, Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-CA), who attended the meeting, said the president is open to forgiving debt for college students regardless of whether they attended a public or private institution.
"The president never mentioned an amount nor did the president say that he was going to wipe out all student debt," Cardenas said, according to the news outlet. "He did a dialogue with us about the differential between young people who went to public schools or private schools and we CHC members said he should focus on both. And he said, 'Okay, good to know.'"
Cardenas added that he reiterated to Biden that the Hispanic Caucus supports executive action that would forgive at least $10,000 in college debt if Congress can’t pass legislation doing so. In response, Cardenas said the president “smiled and said, 'You're going to like what I do on that, I'm looking to do something on that and I think you're going to like what I do.'"
"We're looking at it from a vantage point of if they needed help getting through college and they took on debt, it shouldn't matter," Cardenas added.
The news comes after the White House announced earlier this month that it’s extending a pandemic-era pause on federal student loan payments through August 31.
During a White House press briefing on Monday, press secretary Jen Psaki assured that the administration would make a decision about canceling some student loan debt between now and the end of August or the pause would be further extended.
