Joe Biden embraced student loan forgiveness as the country prepares for an economic downturn due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Canceling slithers of federal student debt is one of the sticking points for a $2 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package yet to pass Congress. Biden sided with Senate Democrats late Sunday after they pushed back debate of the measures until the package included more worker protections rather than focusing on corporate bailouts.
“We should forgive a minimum of $10,000/person of federal student loans, as proposed by Senator Warren and colleagues. Young people and other student debt holders bore the brunt of the last crisis. It shouldn’t happen again,” the two-term vice president and presumptive 2020 Democratic nominee tweeted, referring to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Additionally, we should forgive a minimum of $10,000/person of federal student loans, as proposed by Senator Warren and colleagues. Young people and other student debt holders bore the brunt of the last crisis. It shouldn’t happen again.
— Joe Biden (Text Join to 30330) (@JoeBiden) March 22, 2020
Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Biden’s remaining 2020 Democratic presidential opponent, want to simply nix $1.6 trillion in outstanding student debt. The former 36-year Delaware senator, however, based his approach on income-based repayment plans, where borrowers earning less than $25,000 a year wouldn’t owe anything and those bringing in more than $25,000 would have their remaining balance forgiven after paying 5% of their discretionary income for 20 years. He also pitched reforming the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program so those in national or community service would be eligible for $10,000 of undergraduate or graduate debt relief annually for up to five years.
Biden’s tweet Sunday is his third attempt in a week to reach out to Sanders and Warren’s base as he looks to unite Democrats ahead of the party’s nominating convention this summer and the general election fight against President Trump and congressional Republicans in November.
Last week, Biden announced that he supported Sanders’s proposal to make public colleges and universities free for students from families whose combined income is below $125,000. He previously advocated for two years of free community college through a federal-state partnership. Biden adopted Warren’s bankruptcy plan as well. The proposal would largely undo the bankruptcy law over which the pair clashed during a 2005 Senate hearing — when he represented a state that’s home to much of the U.S. credit industry and she was a Harvard Law School professor.
“Joe Biden is running for president to rebuild the middle class so that this time everyone comes along — no matter their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or zip code,” Biden’s campaign wrote. “To accomplish a task this immense, we need to unite the country and bring all of the best minds to the table. Biden is — and as President will continue to be — open to the best ideas to make this a reality, regardless of where they come from.”
