If Congress is going to pass a big stimulus bill, it should do it in a more universal approach by providing American families with a direct cash payment.
As the coronavirus continues to hammer the country, Congress and the Trump administration are considering another legislative package to provide relief to American families and simultaneously help stimulate the economy. But there is a debate over how big of a proposal and what to include.
A concerted effort is being made for the stimulus package to include some form student debt cancellation. This isn’t a new push. Several lawmakers and advocates have called for student loan forgiveness for a while. At the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, Senate Democrats called for $10,000 in student loan forgiveness as part of the CARES Act. Former Vice President and current Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden has also backed that plan.
Then House progressives called for $30,000 in forgiveness. In the end, Congress didn’t cancel student debt, but suspended student loan payments and interest for six months. Since then, other proposals have been put forth and the conversation has continued. Just last week, a petition to cancel student loans reached 1.2 million signatures.
Now, lawmakers will decide what to include in the stimulus package. The House passed a bill that included limited loan forgiveness for distressed student borrowers, as well as stimulus checks and more. But the bill reached $3 trillion and Senate Republicans have largely ignored the legislation.
Money is finite, so lawmakers will have to make choices unless they are willing to continue adding to the national debt, which seems unlikely.
