Schumer Demands Biden Use Executive Order To Cancel Millions In Student Loan Debt

By LifeZette

·Updated: December 9, 2020

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is already calling on Joe Biden to issue an executive order on day one of his presidency that bypasses Congress and cancels millions of dollars of federal student loan debt.

Schumer Wants Biden To Cancel Student Loan Debt

“We have come to the conclusion that President Biden can undo this debt, can forgive $50,000 of debt the first day he becomes president,” Schumer said, according to Fox Business. “You don’t need Congress. All you need is the flick of a pen.”

Earlier this year, Schumer laid out a plan alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in which the president would cancel up to $50,000 of student debt per borrower via executive order. The New York Democrat has said before that he wants to see Biden follow through with this plan.

Biden has yet to express support for the initiative, however, and has instead openly advocated for forgiving $10,000 in student loan debt as part of a broader COVID-19 relief package. The former Vice President has also said that it’s up to Congress to move to wipe out student debt, and Schumer has said that this will be a priority during the next session.

“Millions of young Americans, including so many New Yorkers we represent — and their families — have been crushed by student loan debt, greatly impeding their ability to begin careers and build the financial resources needed to rent apartments, buy homes, start families or just simply build their futures,” Schumer previously said.

“Even worse, the debt load average across New York is actually higher than it is across the country, and this holds down our entire local economy, which we cannot afford to suppress after dealing with the financial devastation of COVID,” he added.

Drawbacks Of Canceling Student Loan Debt

However, those who are against cancelling student debt have pointed out that doing so would only increase the country’s national deficit, which hit a record $3.1 trillion for fiscal year 2020. The Committee for a Responsible Budget recently published a report showing that cancelling student loan debt would cost around $1.7 trillion, and would provide only a tiny bump in the economy in return.

“There are a number of benefits and costs associated with canceling student debt,” the report stated. “But as a stimulus measure, its ‘bang for buck’ is far lower than many alternatives under consideration or the COVID relief already enacted.”

This could only be the beginning of progressive Democrats putting pressure on Biden to enact their radical agendas.

This piece was written by James Samson on December 8, 2020. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.