Biden administration signals a decision on student loan forgiveness could come soon

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the jobs report for the month of March from the State Dining Room of the White House on April 1, 2022 in Washington, DC.

The tens of millions of Americans saddled with student loans may soon hear what the Biden administration has decided to do.

Not a single person in this country has paid a dime on federal student loans since the president took office, according to the White House press secretary.

She said that President Joe Biden would make a decision about student debt cancellation before the pause on student loans ended.

The relief suspending the bills has been in place for over two years and is scheduled to end in August.

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Repayment troubles were common among student loan borrowers before the public health crisis.

The country's outstanding education debt balance was larger than credit card or auto debt and posed a bigger burden to households. Ten million people were estimated to be in student loan default or delinquency.

Experts say that the financial impact of the public health crisis has worsened the situation. A recent study found that student loan borrowers were more likely to miss a payment if the payment pause ended.

This week's development suggests that Biden may be warming up to the idea of student loan forgiveness.

According to multiple reports, the president indicated he was looking to provide some form of student debt cancellation when the topic came up with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Democrats and advocates have put pressure on the president to act ahead of the elections, pointing out that student debt cancellation is a campaign promise he can deliver on without Congress, while much of his agenda has been stymied in the House and Senate.

There is still a debate among some lawyers about whether the president has the authority to forgive debt.

Opponents of student loan cancellation say the policy forces taxpayers to foot the bill for those who have benefited from higher education and is unfair to Americans who didn't attend college.

The cost of college has left people with little choice other than to borrow if they want to get a decent paying job, and that people of color and women are shouldering the most pain from the lending system. Women hold two-thirds of federal student debt.

A recent study by The Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that 70% of student debt relief would go to people in middle-income and low-income neighborhoods.