Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats praise student debt cancellation: 'Today is a day of joy and relief'
AP Photo/Steven Senne
- On Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced $10,000 in student loan debt cancellation.
- That cancellation is targeted at lower-income borrowers.
- Democrats praised the move, and said that there is still more to be done to help borrowers.
President Joe Biden made it official on Wednesday: Some borrowers will see $10,000 in student-loan debt canceled.
The long-awaited announcement came after over a year of a repayment pause, with the Biden administration announcing one-time relief for lower-income and lower-earning borrowers and another extension of the payment pause.
Democrats were quick to praise the historic move. Many also reiterated calls from advocates to keep pushing for further relief, and ensure that borrowers who are eligible for forgiveness have adequate time to apply for and receive it.
"Today is a day of joy and relief because President Biden has canceled a big chunk of student debt for as many as 43 million Americans," Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said in a statement.
Warren, along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, had reportedly pulled a last-ditch effort to convince Biden to make relief even more expansive. Schumer and Warren also issued a joint statement saying that Biden's announcement was "a giant step forward."
"Make no mistake, the work — our work — will continue as we pursue every available path to address the student debt crisis, help close the racial wealth gap for borrowers, and keep our economy growing," Warren and Schumer said.
Senator Ed Markey, the other senator from Massachusetts, said in a statement that "tens of millions of Americans with student loan debt are breathing a sigh of relief" today.
"As our economy regains steam as we emerge from the darkest days of the COVID-19 crisis, canceling billions of dollars in student debt will have a positive effect that will reverberate throughout our economy," Markey said, adding that "we look ahead" to further steps to support families with debt and lower the cost of higher education.
"Finally, real relief is here," Senator Patty Murray of Washington said in a statement.
House Democrats were also quick to weigh in. Representative Ayanna Pressley, a leading Democrat from Massachusetts, said that, "for nearly two years, we have organized, mobilized, and advocated for President Biden to be bold and responsive to the movement that elected him by using his executive authority to cancel federal student loan debt."
"We urged the President to make good on his promise to cancel student debt and bring meaningful relief to our families in this moment of overlapping crises — and today he acted," Pressley said in a statement.
Representative Pramila Jayapal, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said that the cancellation is a "massive step in the right direction," although it is "not as high as we called for." Jayapal also said that the caucus encourages the White House "to ensure that repayments do not begin until debt cancellation can reach the people who need it."
"Under President Biden, no one has had to make a payment on a federal student loan," Jayapal said. "If millions have to restart these payments before the forgiveness reaches them, it would only increase the anxiety and hardship Americans are feeling amid other rising costs."
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