generic Schumer: Student Loan Repayment Pause ‘Ain’t Enough,’ Biden Closer ‘Than Ever’ To Canceling Student Debt
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) claimed Wednesday that the pause on federal student loan payments “ain’t enough” and suggested the White House is closer “than ever before” to canceling student debt.
“I have talked personally to the president on this issue a whole bunch of times. I have told him that this is more important than just about anything else that he can do on his own,” the New York Democrat told the State of Student Debt Summit during a virtual event on Wednesday, according to The Hill.
“We’re making progress folks. We are making progress. The White House seems more open to it than ever before,” he added.
Schumer has called on the president to cancel up to $50,000 in student debt per borrower. He suggested that is what the Biden administration will ultimately agree to, though the president has previously only expressed a willingness to cancel up to $10,000 per borrower — and only if Congress passes a bill to do so and sends it to his desk to sign.
“We want our young people to realize that they can have a good future,” Schumer said. “One of the best, very best, top-of-the-list ways to do it is by canceling student debt, by getting rid of the $50,000, even going higher after that.”
Schumer’s comments come one week after the Department of Education announced that it would again extend the moratorium on federal student loan repayment, interest and collections through August.
“Don’t get me wrong, the pause is a good thing, but it ain’t enough. It ain’t close to enough,” Schumer said.
The pause keeps interest rates at 0 percent and suspends debt-collection efforts. It applies to more than 36 million Americans who have student loans that are held by the federal government.
The collective debt of the 36 million debtors totals more than $1.37 trillion, Education Department data show. Roughly one-third of borrowers are in default or delinquency. The average monthly payment is $400.
“That is so much money. How does anybody live knowing every month I got to pay this $400?” Schumer said on Wednesday. “So the pause has stopped that, but make no mistake about it. This pause isn’t going to stay forever and the canceling of student debt is the way to go.”
Before the most recent extension of the moratorium on student loan repayment was issued, more than 90 Democratic lawmakers wrote a letter to President Biden calling for both an extension and for the White House to “cancel student debt now.”
Democrats in both the House and Senate signed the letter, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, House Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Pramila Jayapal of Washington. Members of the progressive “Squad” signed the letter as well, including Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
The group of Democratic lawmakers argued that cancellation is “one of the most powerful ways to address racial and economic equity issues.”
“The student loan system mirrors many of the inequalities that plague American society and widens the racial wealth gap. Black students in particular borrow more to attend college, borrow more often while they are in school, and have a harder time paying their debt off than their white peers,” they wrote.
“They are more than three times as likely to go into default within four years on their federal loans as white borrowers — and face wage garnishment, tax refund withholding, and federal benefit offsets,” the letter added. “While Latino borrowers often have lower loan balances than their white peers, they are more likely to struggle in repaying their loans, and have some of the lowest post-education earnings among all racial or ethnic groups.”
