The Congressional Black Caucus is asking President Joe Biden to use his executive powers to implement “broad-based student loan debt cancellation,” which would help narrow the racial wealth gap.
one in Statement Friday, the group of black lawmakers described $1.7 trillion student loan debt crisis As “a racial and economic justice issue disproportionately affecting black communities.”
“Canceling student loan debt is one of the most effective ways to address ongoing economic and racial inequalities in our nation,” the CBC wrote.
“There is nothing but inaction,” said the lawmakers, who also called on Biden to meet to discuss the matter.
The CBC did not include a specific amount of student loans that they recommended canceling.
Earlier this year, dozens of Democratic lawmakers, led by Massachusetts Democrats Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Sen. $50,000 from the President. requested to cancel in student loans per borrower.
Biden first indicated that he was “unlikely” to eliminate so much debt per capita, but is Expresses support for loan waiver of $10,000 per person.
The administration has said the president will decide whether to cancel any amount of student loans before payments resume in August. (Federal student loan payments were put on hold amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and Biden has repeatedly extended this pause.)
Comprehensive loan forgiveness would make a significant dent in the racial wealth gap, as black graduates are more likely to borrow money to pay for college than any other racial group, and black students are the largest students of any group. One has to graduate with loan debt.
A report by the Federal Reserve in 2020 looked at US borrowers under the age of 40 who have student loan debt, and found that 26% of Black and 19% of Latinx borrowers were behind on their loan payments, compared with only 7 % compared to white borrowers.
,
