No student loan forgiveness — again.
If you’re looking for student loan cancellation in President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan, you won’t find it. Here’s what you need to know. The Build Back Better plan — Biden’s economic and social plan in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic — was cut from $3.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion. Both before and after reducing the legislative package, you won’t find any mention of wide-scale student loan cancellation. Not from the president. Not from Congress. At the same time, there has been no shortage of rhetoric in recent weeks about the need to cancel student loans and to cancel student debt now: “President Biden can cancel student loan debt with ‘the flick of a pen.’” — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) “We don’t actually have to do anything in Congress. The president of the United States has the power to cancel student loan debt on his own.” — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “We know the President can do it with the stroke of a pen… Cancel student debt.” — Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) told Business Insider. “…[T]here is more opportunity than ever to bring the heat on Biden to cancel student loans…he needs to step up his executive action game and show his commitment to deliver for people.” — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on Instagram. For all the rhetoric about student loan cancellation and how essential it is to provide student loan relief to struggling student loan borrowers, you won’t find any wide-scale student loan cancellation anywhere in any major legislation. ( Student loan forgiveness isn’t available to everyone, but this plan is available now). It wasn’t in the first stimulus package. It wasn’t in the second stimulus package. It wasn’t in the president’s budget. It wasn’t in the infrastructure bill. It’s not in the Build Back Better plan.
