By Natalia Ruvalcaba and Neha Malhi
WASHINGTON, DC. – The Biden administration late Friday reported student loans could possibly be forgiven for up to $10,000 per debtor—but this news was negatively received by many advocates.
According to the CNBC report, with the nation’s student debt rising to $1.7 trillion, many advocates have demanded that a minimum of $50,000 needs to be forgiven for each borrower.
Currently, more than 40 million Americans carry school debt with one-fourth of the population being past due on their payments.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson, in his statement, wrote, “The average Black borrower has $53,000 in student loan debt four years after graduation, nearly twice the amount as their white counterparts.”
He added, “$10,000 in cancellation would be slap in the face.”
Advocates nationwide expressed their disappointment with President Biden’s response to cancel $10,000 in student loan, arguing the administration needs to cancel at least $50,000 per student in order to have a meaningful impact.
Co-founder of the Debt Collective Thomas Gokey noted, “It’s an absolute insult. This is less than what he promised on the campaign.”
Immediate forgiveness of $10,000 per debtor was promised by Biden as he campaigned for the presidency. As reported by The Washington Post, there was no discussion of implementing caps,
Biden’s administration is currently seeking to establish two caps—one of $150,000 for individuals and for married couples, $300,000.
Gokey continued to report that imposing a cap would not allow everyone to receive all benefits of the policy, and, “Everyone will have to jump through hoops.”
To further this claim, he made note of various government forgiveness efforts that have resulted in turmoil, including the public service loan forgiveness program and income-driven repayment plans.
The reports of a $10,000 forgiveness for borrowers was said by The Washington Post as being the administration’s prime policy to address student loans.
President Biden was reported to have been waiting to address the nation regarding this student debt policy proposal in late May, yet was forced to extend its discussion in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting.
CNBC stated that The White House spokesman said it has yet to make a final decision, adding, “No decision have been made yet—but as reminder no one has been required to pay a single dime of student loans since the President took office.”
CNBC’s Reporter Annie Nova, wrote, “Cancelling $10,000 per borrower would cost around $321 billion and completely forgive the loans of about one-third of student loan borrowers.”
She further stated that guidelines of how the relief would narrow with the income caps still needed to be clarified.
