President Biden is considering wiping out a “significant” amount of the $1.7 trillion in student loan debt, according to members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who attended a closed-door meeting with the president earlier this week.
Rep. Tony Cardenas, a California Democrat who attended the Monday meeting, suggested that Mr. Biden may soon issue an executive action to cancel a larger amount of student loan debt.
“I feel very confident that he is pushing on his team to do something, and to do something significant,” Mr. Cardenas told The Washington Post.
He also told CBS News that Mr. Biden did not offer specifics but suggested his plan would appease the leftist lawmakers.
“You’re going to like what I do on that, I’m looking to do something on that and I think you’re going to like what I do,” Mr. Biden told the caucus, according to Mr. Cardenas.
“The president never mentioned an amount nor did the president say that he was going to wipe out all student debt,” Mr. Cardenas said. “He did a dialogue with us about the differential between young people who went to public schools or private schools and we CHC members should focus on both.”
White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to confirm that Mr. Biden would eliminate a substantial amount of debt, saying the president is “continuing to look” at options before making a decision.
About 40 million Americans hold $1.7 trillion in student loan debt.
Democratic lawmakers have urged the president to cancel student loan debt, saying he should use an executive order to cancel $50,000 of debt per borrower.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, members of the House Democratic “Squad,” have pushed Mr. Biden to cancel all student debt.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration extended the pandemic-era pause on federal student loan payments through Aug. 31, saving borrowers more than $5 billion in interest payments per month, according to the Department of Education.
If Mr. Biden does cancel a substantial amount of student loan debt, it would mark a shift in the president’s views toward student debt. During the 2010 presidential campaign, he pledged to cancel up to $10,000 of debt per student but now seems to be aiming for a larger amount.
The move would curry favor with younger voters ahead of the midterm elections. A poll released Monday from the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School showed Mr. Biden’s approval rating among voters aged 18 to 29 years old is 41%, a 20-percentage-point drop since last year.
Student loan debt was the biggest issue facing those voters, according to the survey. About 85% said they were in favor of some kind of political action on student debt, but only 38% favored total debt cancellation.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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