Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is pushing President-elect Joe Biden to maneuver around Congress and cancel student loan debt for millions.
The Massachusetts Democrat listed a bevy of issues on Twitter that the Biden-Harris campaign committed to assisting in, including the Paris Climate Accord, reinstating DACA, and ending the travel ban against certain Muslim countries. However, Warren also listed student loan debt in a follow-up tweet, calling the issue “the single most effective executive action available for a massive economic stimulus.”
Student loans are currently the second-highest amount of debt for Americans at $1.4 trillion after mortgage debt ($9.6 trillion). It was the third-highest until 2019 when student loan debt passed auto loan debt ($1.3 trillion) to move into second.
Warren and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduced legislation in September calling for up to $50,000 to be wiped from every student loan borrower.
“Massive student loan debt is exacerbating the historic economic crisis our country is facing,” Warren said at the time according to Bloomberg Law. “The president can use existing authority to deliver immediate relief for struggling Americans.”
Biden promised to cancel up to $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers during a town hall event that replaced the second presidential debate. Biden added he would extend student loan forgiveness to include private Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) or a Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI). The president-elect also believes two-year and four-year public colleges should be tuition-free for students whose parents make less than $125,000 per year.
“You get all these degrees and you get all this debt, and you get in a position where you can’t get a job because no one is hiring, or they’re hiring at very low wages…I’m going to eliminate your student debt if you come from a family [making less] than $125,000 and went to a public university.” Biden said before adding, “I’m going to make sure everyone gets $10,000 knocked off of their student debt.”
Warren also said under the Higher Education Act, the Department of Education has the power to “modify, compromise, waive or release” student loans and she will be applying the same pressure to whomever gets the post as she has to Biden.
“Let’s be clear: Our government has cleared far bigger hurdles to meet the needs of big businesses when they came looking for bailouts, tax giveaways, and other concessions,” Warren wrote in a Medium post.