Betsy DeVos to Congress: Don't forgive student loan debt
With Democrats taking control of the Senate, all eyes are on President-elect Joe Biden regarding whether he will follow through with his campaign pledge to forgive student loan debt.
Just days before her resignation, former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos urged Congress to reject the idea, calling loan forgiveness and free college “misguided."
With Democrats set to take control of the Senate, all eyes are on President-elect Joe Biden regarding whether he will follow through with his campaign pledge to forgive student loan debt. However, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, just days before resigning, urged Congress to reject the idea, calling loan forgiveness and free college “misguided.”
”Across-the-board forgiveness of college debts is not only unfair to most Americans, it is also the most regressive of policy proposals – rewarding the wealthiest sector of our labor force at the expense of the poorest,” DeVos wrote in a letter to Mitch McConnell.
[RELATED: VIDEO: Young Americans say canceling student loan debt is ‘dangerous’]
DeVos said the process to apply for and pay back loans has been “revolutionized,” adding that “understanding and repaying student loans is becoming easier than ever.” In March, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the Department of Education suspended all student loan payments.
While Biden has expressed a desire to cancel at least $10,000 of student loans per borrower, he has faced pressure from more progressive politicians to go a step further.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) are calling on Biden to cancel up to $50,000 per borrower via executive order. However, Biden has questioned whether the president has the power to do so without congressional approval.
“We have to push the Biden administration hard,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told Punchbowl. “This whole thing ‘We can’t cancel student loan debt’ is not gonna fly.”
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @JezzamineWolk
