Here’s what the federal government is doing for student borrowers

While prominent Democrats have called on President Biden to use executive authority to cancel student loan debt, the White House indicated that the president is waiting on Congress to take action. ( iStock )

It may be up to Congress to help President Joe Biden enact student loan forgiveness legislation following comments made by press secretary Jen Psaki at a Dec. 14 press conference. 

When asked by reporters about student debt cancellation, Psaki indicated that Biden is waiting on lawmakers to author a bill on debt forgiveness, adding that his presidential authority to cancel student loans is “under review.”

Her comments came amid repeated calls from prominent lawmakers who have urged the president to cancel federal student debt through an executive order.

“If Congress sends him a bill, he’s happy to sign it. They haven’t sent him a bill on that yet.”

As a presidential candidate, Biden campaigned on canceling up to $10,000 worth of federal student loan debt per borrower, pledging that it “should be done immediately” in a speech he made as president-elect. However, the Biden administration has not enacted widespread student loan cancellation thus far.

Keep reading to learn more about student loan forgiveness, as well as your alternative debt repayment options like refinancing. You can browse interest rates from real private lenders in the table below, and visit Credible to see your estimated rate in just a few minutes.

Progressives urge Biden to cancel student debt with executive action

Some prominent Democrats have continuously called for President Biden to cancel student loan debt using his executive authority. That could, in part, be because enacting student debt forgiveness legislation through Congress would be a difficult task since Republicans and some moderate Democrats might not support it. Continue reading “Biden wants student loan forgiveness from Congress, but lawmakers urge him to use executive action”