Joe Biden is canceling up to $10,000 in student debt per American, and up to $20,000 if the former student has received Pell Grants.
The announcement came Wednesday and had been anticipated for weeks. For many, this announcement was a relief, but for others, it was one of distress.
Not every American has student debt, though every American who pays taxes will be required to contribute to paying the debts of others. This includes Americans who have already paid their own debt.
Penn Wharton’s school of business at the University of Pennsylvania found that this life would bear a consequence of $300 billion on American taxpayers over the next 10 years.
Nancy Pelosi has in the past called President Biden’s move to cancel debt “bold” and indicated that he does not actually have the authority to take action on the issue.
Even Biden’s own party does not believe that he is able to, or should cancel the debt. But he continues on anyway.
Skip ahead, now that the announcement has been made, Pelosi is on board.
On Twitter, she wrote: “@POTUS’ bold action is a strong step in Democrats’ fight to expand access to higher education.”
She continued, “By delivering historically targeted student debt relief to millions of borrowers, more working families will be able to meet their kitchen table needs as they recover from the pandemic.”
The Daily Caller made note of the speaker’s “change in tune” compared to previous comments.
“People think that the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not,” Pelosi said during a press event in April. This may very well have been an attempt to justify the breach in Biden’s campaign promise.
She continued, “He can postpone. He can delay. But he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress. And I don’t even like to call it forgiveness because that implies a transgression. It’s not to be forgiven, just freeing people from those obligations.”