The subject matter of student loan debt is having an increasingly relevant role in the progressive sentiment directed towards President Biden.
During Biden’s 2020 campaign, he promised his base that if he got elected, he’d get rid of student loan debt. Biden made it plain that he sympathized with folks who are bogged down by owing money to the government.
However, candidate Biden and President Biden have very different views on this matter. While the candidate appeared understanding to his base and committed to ending student loans, the president is essentially saying that folks who owe student loans are on their own.
On multiple occasions, the 46th president has put moratoriums on student loan payments; however, the debts themselves are still very much alive.
With the new year, Biden’s facing further pressure from progressive Democrats to stick by his word and eliminate student loan debt, as Fox Business confirms.
The Latest Updates on Student Loan Debates
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer started off the new year by pressing for President Biden and Vice President Harris to eliminate student loan debt. Schumer is far from alone in this view.
Other lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley have been putting pressure on the Biden administration to cancel the student loans that people willingly took out of their own volition.
Today would be a great day for President Biden and Vice President Harris to #CancelStudentDebt.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 1, 2022
Progressives maintain that student loans are everything from racist to the underlying cause behind racial income gaps and even a form of violence. All in all, the various student loan moratoriums that Biden’s put in place are not enough to satisfy his base.
Response from the Biden Administration
Progressives are very much of the view that Biden has more than enough executive power to meet their demands and eliminate student debt.
However, the Biden administration is arguing that Congress is ultimately going to have to implement the student loan debt the president promised his base.
Cancelling student debt would allow millions of families to start a family, buy a home, save for the future & invest in their communities.@POTUS must keep his promise & #CancelStudentDebt 🖊
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) January 7, 2022
Ironically, the White House is actually right in this regard. Biden does not have the power to make student loans disappear with the stroke of his pen. Even House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has admitted as much.
Thus far, Congress hasn’t taken any action to push legislation that would end student loan debt. Instead, they’re focusing on passing the Build Back Better Act and a series of bills that would federalize state elections, outlaw voter ID, etc.
If people are still waiting for Biden to cancel their student loans, they’re going to be waiting for quite some time to come.
What do you think about the increased pressure Democrats are putting on Joe Biden to make good on his word about student loan debt? Let us know your viewpoints about all of this in the comments area.
