Petition Calling for Student Loan Debt to Be Canceled Surpasses 800K Signatures

Petition Calling for Student Loan Debt to Be Canceled Surpasses 800K Signatures

A petition calling for the cancelation of student loan debt has amassed more than 800,000 signatures.Student Loans Justice, a grassroots organization, started the Change.org petition to call on either President Donald Trump or President-elect Joe Biden to forgive student loan debt by executive order.As of Thursday, the petition had amassed more than 824,000 signatures.Americans collectively hold more than $1.5 trillion in federal student loan debt—and Democratic lawmakers have called on Biden to issue significant student loan forgiveness after taking office, in a bid to ease the burden on those struggling financially amid the coronavirus pandemic.In a recent interview, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Biden should issue an executive order to help eliminate student debt in his first 100 days in office. "I have a proposal with Elizabeth Warren that the first $50,000 of debt be vanquished," he said. "And we believe that Joe Biden can do that with the pen as opposed to legislation."Progressive Democrats, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, have also ramped up the pressure for Biden to help wipe out student debt in recent days. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who has called for eliminating the country's entire outstanding student loan debt, also made the case