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The Congressional Black Caucus Calls For Student Debt Cancellation

CBC Rep. Joyce Beatty says student debt is a “burden” and widens the racial wealth gap.

The dynamic group known as the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), is calling for the cancellation of student debt.

According to Business Insider, on Friday (May 20), CBC Rep. Joyce Beatty pushed the notion that the White House needs to issue a “broad-based student debt cancellation.”

They have not specified an amount they wish to have canceled.

In a statement, Beatty said, “We are committed to working with the Administration to explore all options and we are requesting to meet with the President.”

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Beatty makes mentions that the goal of the debt cancellation is to condense the racial wealth gap and “advance a just and equitable economic recovery for all.”

Since 2020, the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, student loan payments were deferred. With the payment pause set to reach its end after August 31, Many Americans are on edge about what President Joe Biden will do to relieve some of the anxiousness.

During his presidential campaign, President Biden pledged to cancel $10,000 in debt per borrower. As his silence grows on the matter, the pressure to make a decision is mounting for the U.S. leader.

Perhaps there’s optimism for the more than 40 million Americans with federal student loan debt, as Biden said in late April he’d “have an answer” on relief in the weeks to come.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement that, “it has devastated families and roadblocked opportunities for countless Americans.” He continued with, “President Biden alone can do the right thing for the Black community. To help free Black borrowers, President Biden must cancel $50,000 in student debt.”

The White House shut down the proposed amount of $50,000, stating the amount would be closer to the ballpark number that Biden pledged in his campaign – $10,000.

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