Sen. Schumer Announces Plan to Cancel $50K of Student Debt Per Person

New York Senator Chuck Schumer announced a plan to cancel student loan debt for students across the U.S.

According to WGRZ, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer recently announced a plan that would eliminate up to $50,000 of student loan debt. This would be per person. The plan would make sure there is no tax liability for federal student loan borrowers that results from administrative debt collection. This would provide total student loan debt forgiveness for over 75% of borrowers. It would provide partial debt forgiveness for 95% of people.

Sen. Schumer said "Millions of young New Yorkers and their families have been crushed by student loan debt greatly impeding their ability to begin careers and build the financial resources needed to build their futures," according to WGRZ.

WGRZ reports that Sen. Schumer's plan has plans for how the next president would be able to use executive authority under the Higher Education Act to enact his plan. This authority already exists within the government.

Schumer said the resolution lays out how the next president should use existing executive authority under the Higher Education Act to minimize student loan debt for students in New York and across the country.

According to Microcreditsummit.org, the average person has $37,172 in student loan debt. There is $1.56 trillion in student loan debt in the U.S. Local colleges in the Hudson Valley can be quite pricy as well. Marist's tuition is $42,430 per year. Mount Saint Mary College cost $33,126 each year. Vassar College's tuition is $60,030 each year. For in-state students, SUNY New Paltz's tuition is $7,070 and $16,980 for out of state. None of these prices include room and board, books, meal plans, and other costs.