President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he's considering taking action to forgive student loan debt and plans to make a decision in the coming weeks.
I am considering debt reduction. He told reporters at the White House that they were not considering $50,000 debt reduction for students. I'm in the process of looking at whether or not there will be additional debt forgiveness. Biden said that he'll have an answer in the next couple of weeks.
Biden's remarks came in response to a question after he asked Congress to pass a new aid package for Ukraine worth $33 billion. The president has been under pressure from Democratic lawmakers, liberal advocates and young voters to forgive some student debt. The total student debt topped $1.7 trillion last year, and the pandemic has exacerbated the challenges.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday he was hopeful that the goal that we had had, $50,000 of student loans canceled, is getting more and more likely. A source familiar with the Biden administration's thinking told NBC News that no decision has been made, but that it's likely that forgiveness or cancellation policies will be linked to income, likening it to the stimulus checks under his Covid relief bill.
Republicans strongly oppose the idea of federal student debt forgiveness and have introduced legislation to try to prevent Biden from using his executive authority to do so.