New legislation introduced in Congress could
mean big things for student loan payments.
North Carolina Senator Richard Burr,
along with four other Republicans,
introduced the Stop Reckless
student Loan Actions Act yesterday.
Let's take a look.
Congress has not released the
actual text of the bill just yet,
but a release from the Senators say the
bill would end the president's ability
to unilaterally extend the payment pause.
It also says the bill prohibits the
president from canceling student
loan debt because of an emergency.
Senator Burr released a
statement on the bill,
he said in part the Biden administration
continues to call for a return
to normalcy from the pandemic
while simultaneously extending
emergency relief programs like the
student loan repayment freeze.
They can't have it both ways.
Now one reason will Republicans
want payments to pick back up.
The pause has cost the federal
government a lot of money.
The Department of Education says it
cost about $95 billion million dollars.
Excuse me for the first two years.
The senators say the pause will
add more than $20 billion to the
deficit between now and September.
The Department of Education's fiscal
report says it costs taxpayers
about 5 billion per month to extend
the payment freeze.
Now the Senators also worry that the
debt cancellation and relief efforts
don't benefit enough working class people.
A study from the nonprofit committee
for a responsible federal budget
found people with doctorates and
medical degrees received the
most forgiveness from the pause.
It found the average medical graduate
gets $50,000 of cancellation.
People with bachelors can only expect $4500.
Now on the other side of the aisle,
President Biden and key Democratic
lawmakers disagree on the
necessary action to take next.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck
Schumer says he thinks a deal
cancelling up to 50 grand of debt
per borrower could come soon,
the president said today
he does not support that.
I am considering dealing
with some debt reduction.
I am not considering $50,000 debt reduction,
but I'm in the process of taking
a hard look at whether or not.
There are going there will be
additional debt forgiveness.
One Democratic lawmaker said anything less
than 50 grand just is not acceptable.
It was not a number that was randomly chosen.
We looked very carefully at the data,
and it's the one that will help the most
people and provide the most equality
to focus all across this country.
Early voting for the May
election begins today.
The primaries determine who will run
for congressional seats this November,
as CBS News analyst thinks any
additional action from the White House
will come with midterms in mind.
It's always difficult to get
younger voters to turn out,
but especially in a midterm election,
because it's not the kind of big pomp and
circumstance of a presidential election.
It's always harder to turn out
younger voters for for a midterm,
so this is the kind of thing
that Democrats have been.
Pushing the bike administration to do so,
then then they can come out and campaign on.
Look what we were able to accomplish.
Well, the White House hasn't released
a timeline for what could come next.
Some Democratic lawmakers keep
pressuring President Biden to
take action on student loan debt.
It's unclear if he actually
has the power to do so.
The Higher Education Act gives the
education secretary power to enact
changes on student debt. Of course,
that person works for the President,
so Biden could just direct
Secretary Cardona to cancel debt.
It's not clear, though,
if the President can take action on his own,
that would likely need
to be settled in court.
Well, action on debt cancellation
has a lot of people split.
Some say it's a boost needed
for millions of Americans.
Others say they shouldn't need to pay
the bill for someone else's education.
Many of you weighed in on our Facebook page.
GAIL says she understands why.
Some think it's unfair,
but she supports debt relief.
She thinks it gives people a
better chance to get ahead.
Darnell says he agrees with the
action from the White House.
So far,
mark called cancelling debt ridiculous.
If someone borrows money,
they should pay it back and Daniel called it.
Unfair and a slap in the face.
The future of student loan
payments remains unclear.
For now.
Borrowers face a decision they
can start paying now or they
can wait and see what happens.
Hoping for more debt cancellation.
Kayla Albert,
for instance,
is one of the millions in North
Carolina with loans to pay off.
She says the loan payment pause
has helped her a lot.
I wasn't sure you know where
my car payment and student loan
payments were going to come from,
so having that forgiveness
really helped give Peace of Mind.
I'm in a spot now where you know,
I can make the payment,
but I'm grateful for it because
I'm able to continue to use this
time to my advantage and pay
other things down to myself in
a better spot financially.
She says she cut down her student
loan debt by a few $1000.
Financial experts say you don't have
to be like Kayla and make payments now.
They say you should be making a plan though.
CBS's Michael George spoke with experts to
help you prepare for whatever happens next.
22 year old Brendan Rooks recently
started his career in public service with
his student debt waiting in the wings.
I currently have just over $10,000
of student debt.
More than 36 million people have not
had to pay their loans since March 2020,
totaling about $195 billion.
So far, the student debt crisis center,
and savvy surveyed more than 23,000
borrowers and found 92% of those
now fully employed are concerned
about making their loan payments.
1/3 of those borrowers told us that in
preparation of payments resuming in May,
they are skimping out on basic needs
like food, rent and healthcare.
And many are calling for loan forgiveness.
I think we can all agree no matter what.
I decided the aisle you were on that the
student loan system is broken. Experts say
borrowers should use this
time to plan ahead and have
a strategy when the bills
start coming.
Update your contact information.
Sign up for autopay research repayment
plans and consider income driven repayment.
While this is very strong labor market,
some people maybe are not
making as much money.
Maybe there's an income
driven repayment plan.
That's in your future.
Rooks is planning to attend
Graduate School in the fall,
where he already knows
he'll incur more debt.
Well, financial experts suggest
students limit borrowing to the
amount of their anticipated first
year salary and for parents they
should borrow an amount equal to
their household income for each child.
Now, people who qualify for student debt
relief should get a letter in the mail.
You need to watch out though,
because not every letter is legit.
It could be a scammer trying to trick you.
Beware of robocalls as well.
Remember the rule of thumb?
If this all sounds too good to be true,
it probably is.
If you are going to do some type
of loan forgiveness program,
you actually
as a student has to initiate that yourself.
No one's going to call you and say we're
going to forgive your student loans.
Well, hang up right away if you
get one of those robo calls that
offers all the things to you,
call your schools financial aid
office or whoever you get your
loans from and verify with them.
If the offer is legit.
Well for now, millions of borrowers have to
just kind of wait and see what happens next.
The White House.
Has any new action on student debt
will come before the freeze expires?
That means it could still take
months before anything happens.
Let me pull my news to it.
6 isn't it?