host: President Biden's plan to
cancel some student debt for
millions of Americans is drawing
praise but also criticism.
Some say it goes too far while
others say it does not do enough
to address the high cost of
college.
Senator Elizabeth Warren has
long advocated for even larger
relief.
She spoke with the president's
top advisers before the final
announcement and she joins me
now.
Senator Warren, welcome back to
the newshour.
You have hailed this move as one
of the biggest acts of consumer
debt relief but you have also
fought for maury.
I colleague has reported -- my
colleague has reported that you
were the one making the pitch to
get the president to go beyond
the $10,000 he was comfortable
with.
What was your final pitch to the
president on this?
>> So, it was about
concentrating the relief to
those that need it most and that
is where the president ended up.
Remember, a lot of people talk
about this as $10,000 of
cancellation.
The majority of people that will
have their loan debt canceled
will get $20,000 of
cancellation.
And that is because the
president said, $10,000 is the
base bought a number -- another
$10,000 for anyone who had a
Pell grant when they were in
college.
Remember who that is -- 95% of
the votes that had Pell grant
had family incomes under
$60,000.
I wanted more and I will still
fight for more.
I think there is more good that
we can do but there is
concentration where it is needed
the most.
That means that this morning, 20
million Americans woke up
without student loan debt for
the first time in their adult
lives.
And another 23 million Americans
woke up knowing their student
loan debt burden is going to be
smaller than it was.
And I think that is good.
Host: Let me ask you about that
burden.
Let's walk through the math.
You know the racial disparities.
Black are ours carry higher
debts than their white
counterparts.
Black borrowers on average have
about $53,000 in student debt
four years out of school.
$20,000 in own forgiveness cut
it down to $33,000.
>> Look, I pushed for a higher
number in no small part for
exactly that reason.
In order to maximize how much we
could close the racial wealth
gap.
But make no mistake, $20,000 of
debt forgiveness particularly
when it is concentrated among
tell recipients helps get us in
the right direction.
Think of it this way, half of
all of students that have oh --
half of all Latinos -- half of
all African Americans will see
their debt wiped out.
Host: If I can put to you some
of the criticism coming from
Republicans but also from your
fellow Democrats.
Representative Tim Ryan who is
in a tight senate race in Ohio.
He said waving debt for those
already on a trajectory to
financial security sends the
wrong message to the millions of
Ohioans without a degree working
just as hard to make ends meet.
It is true some 60% of Americans
over the age of 25 do not have a
college degree.
Talk to those millions of
Americans who say, this is
unfair.
They do not want their tax
dollars used to carry out what
they see as a bailout for
>> Let's talk about fairness but
let's start with the fact that
many of the people we are
talking about do not have
college degrees.
And they are not on a trajectory
to have great wealth.
Most of the benefits of this
program are going to go to
people that have an income under
$75,000.
This is part of the reason why
the unions fought so hard for
working people to be able to get
these benefits.
But we should talk about
fairness.
Here is the fairness I think
about.
When I was growing up my daddy
ended up as a janitor.
I wanted to be a public school
teacher.
I found a public university that
was terrific that cost $50 a
semester.
On a price I could pay for on a
part-time waitressing job, I was
able to go to college, get a
diploma and become a
schoolteacher.
Host: What about the cost of
college?
Tuition historic over the last
two decades and there are
concerns that this move could
drive people to believe there
will be debt relief and colleges
could raise tuitions and
students would end up borrowing
more and the student that crisis
gets worse -- is that a risk?
>> Absolutely.
We need to address the rising
cost of college and there are a
lot of different ways to do
that.
The Democrats in the last
stimulus package put a lot of
money into the historically
black colleges and universities
to be able to help support those
schools so they could bring down
their tuition.
I have been working hard on a
piece of legislation that
requires more transparency so
the schools have to real -- have
to reveal the true cost of
going, how many graduate, and
how much money they make on the
others.
Host: The question is more about
the concern that this move could
make the student debt crisis
worse.
Do you share that concern?
>> I don't see at that way.
I see we have a problem with the
cost of higher education and it
has gone up too fast and it is
the responsibility of congress
and the department of education
to step in.
Part of what has happened is
states have cut back on support
for their public institutions
and that means families have to
pay.
When you see the sticker price
going up, it may not baby
because the college is trying to
spend more money to provide --
it may not baby because the
college is trying to spend more
money to provide that education
--
host: There are concerns that
this could be inflationary.
It could undermine some of the
work that has been done.
If that is the case, is this one
time cancellation worth it?
>> First of all, there is no
data to back this up.
The latest evidence I think is
from Goldman Sachs saying the
effect will be negligible.
Host: The committee for
responsible budget has said they
think this could undermine some
of the gains made from the
recent inflation reduction act.
>> They said a tiny percent but
they are ignoring what the
president has done -- coupling
debt cancellation with
restarting payments for the 23
million Americans but will
restart paying.
About $400 a month in student
loan debt claimants -- debt
payments poles that money out of
the economy.
That is a way to fight
inflation.
It is deflationary.
When these are put together, the
effect I think we will see is
that this move helps us fight
inflation and brings down costs
overall for families.
Host: I think it is fair to say
this is an issue we will hear a
lot about.
Elizabeth Warren, democratic
senator from Massachusetts,
thank you for joining us.
>> Thank you for having me.
Host: Tomorrow, we will be
speaking with Republican senator
John through an from south
Dakota about why he opposes this
plan.