Student Loan Debt

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, now on student loan debt, since the day the President took office, I have urged him to use every tool available to cancel as much student debt as possible. Yesterday, the American people received some exciting news. President Biden, to his credit, announced a new Executive action to provide student debt relief to nearly 30 million more Americans. Specifically, the President's plan will automatically forgive interest accrued on existing student loans for 25 million borrowers. The President's plan will also automatically cancel the full amount of debt for over 4.5 million Americans who have already qualified for forgiveness through a decade in a repayment program, and it will provide more than 10 million borrowers with at least $5,000 in debt relief.

This announcement is a clear sign that the President is listening. He is listening to Congress's call to take action, which I have done for years, and he is listening to the pleas of millions of borrowers who want to get their lives back on track. So today's announcement is good news. It is good news for everyone, particularly for young people and people of color. Democrats will continue exploring every option under the Sun to lower costs and make college more affordable.

Already, the President's plan has removed the total debt burden for over 4 million Americans. This plan goes much further. But, on the other hand, unfortunately, our Republican colleagues continue to oppose student debt relief and have wrapped their arms firmly around the MAGA Supreme Court's cruel decision to block student debt cancellation for millions of Americans, and Democrats are going to make sure the American people won't forget it.

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