Harris says Americans under student debt pressure “are literally making decisions about whether they can have a family, whether they can buy a house.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris said the White House was looking for a way to “creatively” tackle student debt.
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The Biden administration announced in December that student loan payments would be suspended until May 1.
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Harris said “we need to keep doing what we’re doing and find out how we can creatively relieve the pressure students are feeling.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, in an interview broadcast Sunday, said the Biden administration was struggling to find a way to “creatively” resolve student debt, citing the pressures it puts on Americans.
“I think we need to keep doing what we’re doing and find out how we can creatively relieve the pressure students are feeling because of their student loan debt,†Harris told CBS News’s Margaret Brennan during an interview on “Face the Nation.”
Harris said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona “is working on what we can and must do frankly to relieve student debt pressures.”
“The graduates and alumni of our country are literally making decisions about whether they can start a family, whether they can buy a house,” she said, adding that she previously had a debt of student loan.
“And that’s no small task, and we have to find a way to alleviate the debt. So it’s a fair question in terms of the seriousness of the problem,” she said.
President Joe Biden’s administration in December extended the federal pause on student loan payments, allowing borrowers to avoid paying until May 1, as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus increases cases of COVID-19 in United States.
“The vote that we have been discussing is a very big deal, and what I think we need to do is continue to be vigilant and fight for the people who have the right to be seen and that their situation is heard and understood because we have the capacity to actually ease the burdens that people carry that keep them from getting through the day or the month, â€added Harris.
“This further extension of the repayment break will provide critical relief to borrowers who continue to face financial hardship as a result of the pandemic, and allow our administration to assess Omicron’s impacts on student borrowers,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. Declaration of December 22.
“As we prepare for the return to repayment in May, we will continue to provide tools and supports to borrowers so they can complete a repayment plan that is tailored to their financial situation, such as an income-based repayment plan. “, he added. .
Some Democratic lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have called on the Biden administration to go beyond deferring debt payments, asking the president to write off $ 50,000 in student loan debt.
During his 2020 presidential campaign, Biden pledged to write off “a minimum†of $ 10,000 in student loan debt per person.
“Young people and other holders of student debt have borne the brunt of the latest crisis. This should not happen again, â€he said in a press release dated March 22, 2020. Tweeter.
So far, he has not kept his promise.
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