Democrats in the House and Senate introduced a nonbinding resolution calling on President Joe Biden to sign an executive order that would forgive up to $50,000 in student loan debt for all borrowers.
While the government has suspended payments for most borrowers until September because of the coronavirus pandemic, a Pew poll found that about 60% of borrowers said they would have trouble making payments again. Even before the pandemic, millions of people were struggling to make their payments, with 25% of borrowers in delinquency or default.
The plan would forgive all student loan debt for 80% of borrowers and reduce the country's outstanding student loan balance by $1 trillion. That would completely free around 36 million people from debt.
"During a time of historic and overlapping crises, which are disproportionately impacting communities of color, we must do everything in our power to deliver real relief to the American people, lift up our struggling economy and close the racial wealth gap," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. "Democrats are committed to big, bold action, and this resolution to cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt is one of the strongest steps the president can take to achieve these goals."
President Biden has resisted calls to use an executive order to forgive the debt and has asked Congress to pass a bill forgiving $10,000 for borrowers. He has not commented on the recent proposal.
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