AOC wrote on Instagram that student-loan forgiveness can't just be an "arbitrary number."- "There are policies where a halfway approach is kind of a waste," she said.
When it comes to student-loan forgiveness, a Democratic lawmaker thinks President
"People get addicted to splitting things down the middle but there are policies where a halfway approach is kind of a waste as it's not much better than nothing, and resources are better spent elsewhere. We push so that people can actually experience the benefits of a
"
Ocasio-Cortez isn't the only Democrat to feel this way about broad student-loan relief. The conversation surrounding the matter is picking up, as most recent reports have suggested Biden is considering forgiving $1o,000 in
Massachusetts Sen.
"It was a number to get the most relief to the most people," Warren said. Insider previously reported on data obtained from Warren's office that found that while Biden's proposed $10,000 in relief would zero out balances for 13 million borrowers, $50,000 in relief would do the same for 30 million, or 76%, of all federal borrowers.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders wants to go even bigger, urging Biden on multiple occasions to cancel all student debt in the country. The White House has yet to confirm any amount of student-loan relief, giving Democrats time to push for an amount of relief they think would be best. Republicans, meanwhile, are pushing against any relief at all, arguing wiping out student debt would exacerbate inflation at the cost of taxpayers.
Still, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told reporters two weeks ago that while a decision on relief has not yet been made, the
"We are prepared, we're ready to roll up our sleeves... we've been working nonstop," Cardona said. "We're ready to move forward on these policies."