It was good news for all Americans, especially for those still burdened with debt from student loans, that President Biden has signaled that he will use his executive authority to cancel some of the debt.
Currently, a moratorium on student loans has been in effect since the outbreak of COVID-19, and the news has come that the president plans to do more than extending the moratorium, which is still short of canceling the debt entirely.
During a recent meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Biden said he has asked his aides to explore options of broad forgiveness for federal loans, and that would go beyond his campaign pledge.
Even so, there is a bit of hesitancy on such a broad relief initiative, particularly its impact on the economy in this period of rising inflation. Biden appears to have his ear cocked to some of the concerns raised by a recent government watchdog report that has revealed stark failure in the student loan forgiveness program run by the feds.
According to the GAO (Government Accountability Office) it was indicated that an increasing number of student loan borrowers who could have their loans “canceled under existing laws may miss out because of incompetence in the program.”
For Richard Cordray, chief operating officer at FSA (Federal Student Aid), an agency of the Education Department, “this is really inexcusable,” he said in an interview with Yahoo Finance. “But what’s done is done. And what we’re trying to do here is take account of it and make adjustments for it as best we can.”
Apparently, if Biden’s words ring true, the FSA has an ally in this quest, and perhaps this is the coordinated tandem we need to expand the number of student loans due to be forgiven more than 157 actually discharged of the nearly 8,000 eligible under existing laws.
Mr. President, we know your agenda is laden with pressing issues, but this is a measure that thousands are entitled to and an executive move on your part would be a significant step toward relief of anxiety for many Americans struggling to make ends meet.