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On Tuesday (April 26), reports swirled with the news that President Joe Biden was "seriously" considering canceling student loans for upwards of 43 million borrowers. A report by Forbes released Wednesday (April 27), however, states that the reports were inaccurate and there's more to the president's plan for student loan relief.
CBS News first reported that Biden told a group of lawmakers that he was weighing options to "forgive, most, if not all, student loan debt." Forbes on Wednesday (April 27) stated that the bold statement that caused much excitement for financially-burdened borrowers, was revised to more accurately portray what Biden is thinking: the administration is considering "forgiving some federal student loan debt."
"The President never mentioned an amount nor did the president say that he was going to wipe out all student debt," Rep. Tony Cardenas of California, who was present during the meeting, told CBS News in a revised report.
Since taking office, Biden has cleared $17 million of student loans and has previously supported clearing $10,000 on a wide scale for federal borrowers. The commander-in-chief has also stated he's waiting on Congress to pass a law he can sign to provide loan relief for borrowers.
According to Forbes, Biden has not explicitly stated he's in favor of complete student loan forgiveness or even the $50,000 per borrower plan some other Democrats have proposed.
Federal loan repayments have been paused multiple times since 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic began. Analysis shows that the cancelation of student loan debt would boost Black wealth by 40% and that Black women disproportionately shoulder as much as 22% more in loans than white women while also making less per dollar than other groups.
Plans for relief have continued to gain more attention at the federal level among Democrats as the 2022 midterm election approaches.
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