Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), a member of the so-called Democrat “Squad,” is calling student loan debt a form of “policy violence” and urging President Joe Biden to act to cancel student loans.
On Friday, Pressley tweeted, “Today, over 43 million people in the U.S. are crushed under more than $1.7 trillion in student loan debt.”
And so many others whose lived experiences continue to affirm what we know to be true:
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) December 17, 2021
That the student debt crisis is multiracial & multigenerational.
That it is a racial, gender & economic justice issue.
That @POTUS can & must #CancelStudentDebt.
The congresswoman proceeded to share examples of how student loan debt impacts the lives of her constituents.
“The student debt crisis is multiracial [and] multigenerational,” she wrote.
Pressley went on to call student debt a “racial, gender [and] economic justice issue” and urge Biden to cancel student loan debt.
Finally, she wrote, “Let’s make it plain: student debt is policy violence.”
“We’ll keep fighting to relieve families across the country, to make sure our policies [and] budgets reflect their lived experiences [and] that we build this grassroots movement to [Cancel Student Debt] together,” Pressley added.
Let’s make it plain: student debt is policy violence.
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) December 17, 2021
We’ll keep fighting to relieve families across the country, to make sure our policies & budgets reflect their lived experiences & that we build this grassroots movement to #CancelStudentDebt together🧵
Last week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed that the freeze on student loan payments would not be extended and will expire on Jan. 31, 2022. She has previously told reporters that the administration was “reviewing whether there are any steps he can take through executive action” regarding student loan debt cancellation.
However, she added, “[Biden] would welcome the opportunity to sign a bill sent to him by Congress.”
Earlier this month, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called for Biden to cancel student loan debt which she said is “getting ridiculous.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have also called for Biden to unilaterally cancel $50,000 in student loan debt with a “flick of a pen.”
However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in July, “People think that the president of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness.”
“He does not. He can postpone, he can delay, but he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress,” she added.