Biden Faces Mounting Pressure to Commit to Substantial Student Debt Cancellation

Just 24 hours after the news broke, President Biden died. seriously considering Organisers mobilized to cancel student loans worth tens and thousands of dollars.

Students from the Washington, D.C. area joined advocates from Move On, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and other groups in chants of “cancel student debt” at a rally in front of the White House on April 27.

An all-star cast including Democratic members of Congress attended the rally to urge the Biden administration towards action on student debt. over $1.7 trillion.

“The U.S. Department of Education currently holds so much student loan debt that it’s now the nation’s largest consumer bank,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). “That’s ridiculous.”

“At this point you’re not even paying off your loan, you are paying off the interest on that loan,” Tlaib added. “The system is broken.”

The Trump administration stopped student loan payments at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. The pause was extended six times since then, allowing debtors access to scarce funds to pay down their debts rather than using them to pay off student loans. Monthly student loan payments were $460 before the pause.

It is not enough to delay these payments.

“We have 45 million people in this country who are shackled with student debt,” said. Rep. Ihan Omar (D-MN). “You have to realize, that’s 45 million people who are putting off the opportunity to start that business they want to start. 45 million people are putting off starting a family. That is 45 million people who go to sleep every night, wake up every morning, stressed with the anxiety of having that massive student debt holding them back.”

“We have sold the idea that education is the great equalizer and in order for them to get ahead, that requires higher education,” Omar added. “But we have not created the opportunity and resources for them to do that.”