Omar presses Education secretary for details on student loan forgiveness

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is pressing Education Secretary Miguel Cardona for details on federal student loan forgiveness — a topic on which President Biden has strongly hinted he will soon take action.

A letter to Cardona penned by Omar, which was obtained by Politico, calls “specific plans [the] agency has made to implement the executive order” on student loan forgiveness. The news outlet noted it was signed by 55 other representatives.

“It is important that borrowers get relief quickly and aren’t hampered by unnecessary roadblocks and
obligations,” it reads.

Omar also asked Cardona and the Department of Education for a “comprehensive timeline
for implementing the cancellation.”

The Minnesota Democrat is pressing Cardona for details on how the agency plans to contact borrowers to inform them of the cancellation so that they can access their benefits, work with lenders, ensure that lenders who work to assist borrowers in the process are compensated for this additional work, and work with credit institutions to rectify borrowers’ debt issues that prior — now forgiven — debt has impacted, among other issues.

Biden during the 2020 campaign supported forgiving at least $10,000 in federal student loans per person after several other candidates made forgiveness a key part of their platforms.

The White House has repeatedly said he is prepared to sign legislation canceling student loan debt, but in the meantime is weighing what authority the president has to unilaterally wipe out some debt.

Multiple sources told The Hill in late April that Biden was looking at canceling at least $10,000 in student debt, and indications are the White House appears to have settled on that number even as administration officials work through potential limits on whom the loan cancellation would benefit, including caps on those who earned more than $150,000 last year, or $300,000 for married couples.

–Updated at 1:58 p.m.