According to people with knowledge of the matter, President Joe Biden is considering a plan to forgive a minimum of $10,000 in student loan debt per person.
Since entering the White House last year, Biden has taken a cautious approach to debt forgiveness. Deficit hawks feel that broad cancellation may make inflation worse, while liberals feel that the president's efforts don't go far enough.
According to individuals with knowledge of the talks, any cancellation plan that emerges is likely to be geared toward lower-income and middle-class Americans.
Many lawmakers, including Schumer and Warren, want to eliminate around $50,000 in student debt per borrower, a longstanding wish of Biden, who recently laid out some of his conditions for any potential plan.
Biden said at the White House on Thursday that he was considering dealing with some student debt. I will have an answer in the next couple of weeks.
The Washington Post reported recently that the administration was considering limiting relief to borrowers who made less than $150,000 a year, while also considering barring high-earning borrowers from the debt cancellation framework.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says that if Biden wiped out student loan debt for everyone, the total would be $245 billion.
The federal pause on student-loan repayments was extended for a fourth time by the Biden administration, giving borrowers four additional months from the previous May 1 restart date.
Progressives have pressed for more aggressive action on the issue for over a year now, arguing that the president has the power to eliminate student debt. Many lawmakers are worried that Biden's inaction on student-loan cancellation will lead to a decline in voter turnout among younger voters, which is why they were drawn to the candidacy of independent Sen.
All student debt in America should be eliminated by Biden, said the senator on Wednesday.
Even $10,000 would be transformational for millions of Americans, according to Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones of New York.
Moderate Democrats have been less vocal about large-scale cancellation plans, with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia telling reporters last week that he was unsure about writing it off completely.
In recent months, Biden's support among the younger generation has fallen compared to his support among the older generation.
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