(InformingNews.com) – Student loan debt makes up a large portion of the financial obligations Americans hold. Democrats have been pushing to reduce the load through forgiveness. With all the focus on other issues being debated, the talk died down. But now a group of lawmakers is renewing the fight.
On January 26, more than 80 Democratic members of Congress sent a request to President Joe Biden to release a memo covering his ability to legally cancel student loans. They want the president to relieve borrowers of $50,000 each, which would equate to about $1 trillion.
The issue of student loan forgiveness may be coming to a head soon, here's what we know: https://t.co/11WLNeunT3
— Forbes (@Forbes) January 26, 2022
Student loan repayments have been on hold since an order from the US Department of Education in March 2020. The concern at that time was the high payments would add an unnecessary burden to debtors during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the end date is May 2022 despite five extensions since its enactment.
The Democratic lawmakers feel students shouldn’t have to begin repaying and deserve some relief. They say the pandemic’s effects have created an environment in which people cannot afford to repay their loans.
President Biden requested assistance from the US Departments of Education and Justice to outline the legal authority he has to cancel debt for educational loans. Still, the reason for his hesitancy to move forward is unknown. The president has said publicly that he’s unsure the move would be legal, and he’s not entirely in agreement with a broad debt cancellation approach.
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