共和国总统乔·拜登因拒绝取消50，000美元学生债务的提议并直截了当地说“我不会让这种事发生”而面临强烈反对

周二，在美国有线电视新闻网的一次市政厅会议上，一名与会者向拜登询问了参议院多数党领袖查克·舒默和参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦的情况取消高达50，000美元联邦学生债务的提议每个借款人。

“这取决于你是去公立大学还是私立大学，”拜登说。

总统说，他不想免除那些在哈佛和耶鲁等精英学校上学的人的债务，这些人经常继续挣高薪，并补充说，他将优先考虑弱势社区的儿童教育。

拜登说:“我准备注销1万美元的债务，但不是50美元，因为我认为我没有权力签署一项行政命令来做到这一点。”。

总统还说，收入低于12.5万美元的家庭，其孩子上州立大学的家庭应该免费上学。他还表示支持将偿还债务作为工资的一部分

然而，他的评论招致了激烈的批评。

纽约众议员亚历山大·奥卡西奥-科尔特斯公开反对拜登的评论，他在推特上说，“谁在乎一个人去了什么学校？”

她认为，几代工人阶级的孩子“被鼓励在精英主义的幌子下背负更多债务”，并补充说，“这是错误的。”

她补充说，幼儿教育不一定要作为学生贷款豁免的交换条件。“我们两个都可以，”她说。

马萨诸塞州众议员阿扬娜·普雷斯利也加入了谈话，声称拜登确实有权取消学生债务"用笔一划"

“他可以而且必须使用它。人民理应得到更多，”她说。

明尼苏达州众议员伊尔汉·奥马尔(Ilhan Omar)也呼吁拜登(Biden)说，“我们还需要让大学免学费，这样债务就不会累积起来，并投资于普及早期教育。这些都不相上下！”

周三，白宫新闻秘书珍·普萨基(Jen Psaki)指出，拜登此前曾表示，任何超过1万美元的减免都应基于借款人的收入、有问题的债务类型、学校是公立还是私立，以及是用于本科还是研究生教育。

“如果国会向前推进，给他一个一揽子计划，你知道，提供10，000美元的学生债务减免，他会急于签署，”普萨基说。

舒默和沃伦加大了压力，周三发表了一份联合声明，敦促拜登取消高达5万美元的债务。

声明称:“学生贷款债务的海洋正在拖累4300万借款人，并不成比例地拖累美国黑人和棕色人种。”。

“奥巴马总统和特朗普总统利用他们的行政权力取消了学生贷款债务，”声明继续说道。

“拜登政府表示，正在审查通过行政行动取消高达5万美元学生债务的选项，我们相信，他们将同意奥巴马和特朗普使用的标准，以及主要法律专家的结论，即政府有广泛的权力立即为数百万美国人提供急需的救济。”

Biden rejects $50,000 student loan forgiveness plan, faces progressive backlash

President Joe Biden is facing backlash for rejecting a proposal to cancel $50,000 in student debt and stating point-blank, “I will not make that happen.”

During a CNN town hall on Tuesday, an attendee asked Biden about Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s proposal to cancel up to $50,000 in federal student debt per borrower.

“It depends on whether or not you go to a public university or a private university,” Biden said.

The president said doesn’t want to forgive the debts of people who attended elite schools such as Harvard and Yale who often go on to make high salaries and added that he would instead prioritize childhood education for disadvantaged communities.

“I’m prepared to write off $10,000 debt, but not 50, because I don’t think I have the authority to do it by signing” an executive order, Biden said.

The president further said that families who make less than $125,000 and whose kids go to a state university should attend for free. He also expressed support for repaying debt as a portion of one’s salary

However, his comments led to intense criticism.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke out against Biden's comments, tweeting, “Who cares what school someone went to?”

She argued generations of working-class kids are “encouraged to go into more debt under the guise of elitism,” adding, “This is wrong.”

She added that early childhood education doesn’t have to come as a trade-off to student loan forgiveness. “We can have both,” she said.

Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley also joined the conversation, claiming Biden does have the authority to cancel student debt "with the stroke of a pen."

"He can and must use it. The people deserve nothing less," she said.

Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar similarly called out Biden, saying, "We also need to make college tuition-free so debt is not accumulated moving forward and invest in universal early education. These are not at odds!"

On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki noted that Biden has previously said that any relief above $10,000 should be targeted based on the borrower's income, the kind of debt in question, whether the school is public or private and if it is for undergraduate or graduate education.

“If Congress moves forward and sends him a package that, you know, provides $10,000 of student debt relief, he'd be eager to sign that," Psaki said.

Schumer and Warren piled on the pressure and issued a joint statement Wednesday, urging Biden to cancel up to $50,000 in debt.

“An ocean of student loan debt is holding back 43 million borrowers and disproportionately weighing down Black and Brown Americans,” the statement said.

“Presidents Obama and Trump used their executive authority to cancel student loan debt," the statement continued.

"The Biden administration has said it is reviewing options for cancelling up to $50,000 in student debt by executive action, and we are confident they will agree with the standards Obama and Trump used as well as leading legal experts who have concluded that the administration has broad authority to immediately deliver much-needed relief to millions of Americans."

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