Biden nears decision on canceling some student loan debt

Biden nears decision on canceling some student loan debt President Joe Biden says he is close to deciding whether to eliminate some student-loan debt, but stressed any loan forgiveness would be less than the $50,000-per-borrower some Democrats have sought. The comments were the clearest signal yet from Mr. Biden that he may make good on a promise to cancel at least some debt for student loan borrowers. During the campaign in 2020, he said he would “make sure that everybody in this generation gets $10,000 knocked off of their student debt.” The White House has been under intense pressure to provide the relief through executive action, and Mr. Biden recently extended a pause on loan payments for a fourth time. Republican lawmakers are firmly opposed to the idea. Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the second-ranking Republican, filed a bill on Wednesday that would block Mr. Biden from canceling student debt through an executive action and end the payment pause that began in March 2020. “Any future suspension of federal student loan repayments should be left to Congress, not the Biden administration,” Mr. Thune said.