Biden wants to go big on the economy but go small on student-debt reform

Biden wants to go big on the economy but go small on student-debt reform

President Joe Biden has a $1.9 trillion plan and a $1.7 trillion problem. He wants to go big on the former, but, unlike several prominent Democrats, more conservative on the latter.

The $1.9 trillion, of course, is the stimulus plan that Biden was touting in last night's CNN town hall in Wisconsin. But when asked about proposals to cut into the $1.7 trillion in outstanding student-loan debt (as of the third quarter of 2020), the president expressed caution.

Democratic lawmakers including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have called on Biden to use his executive power to cancel up to $50,000 in student debt per person. 

"I will not make that happen," Biden said at CNN's town hall.

Instead, he said he will go smaller “” in fact, that he has to.

"My point is: I understand the impact of debt, and it can be debilitating," Biden said at the town hall. "I am prepared to write off the $10,000 debt but not $50 [thousand], because I don't think I have the authority to do it."

The case against using executive power

One of Biden's first executive actions was extending the pause on student loan payments through September, providing relief to those