Congressman Troy Carter wants to erase student debt
16th August 2021 · 0 Comments
By Julie O’Donoghue
Contributing Writer
(lailluminator.com) — U.S. Rep. Troy Carter (D-New Orleans) has made canceling student debt one of his top priorities as a new congressman.
Carter filed legislation in late July to direct the U.S. Department of Education to get rid of up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt for each borrower. It was one of the first two bills he has submitted as a member of Congress.
The Democrat was sworn into office in May. He replaced Rep. Cedric Richmond, also a Democrat, who joined the Biden administration in January.
If they were carrying less student debt, more Americans would be able to purchase a home, start a business and spend extra money in the local economy, Carter said.
The congressman believes doing away with federal debt would do much more to stimulate the economy than the stimulus checks that citizens have periodically received from the federal government since the pandemic started.
“If you want to talk about economic development and a stimulus, how about doing something novel and forgiving these loans?” Carter said in an interview last Wednesday. Carter said he also supports making community college free – or close to free – for students.
Carter is not alone in Congress in pushing for student loan forgiveness. The issue is popular with several Democrats on Capitol Hill.
President Joe Biden has extended the freeze on federal student loan payments through the end of January, but Democrats in Congress are putting pressure on him to do far more.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) wants Biden to cancel up to $50,000 worth of student debt through executive action – which wouldn’t require votes from Congress. Biden has expressed an interest in taking on a much more modest proposal – possibly forgiving $10,000 of federal debt per borrower, according to Politico.
But there are also questions about whether Biden has the legal authority to cancel student loan debt by himself – and if so, how much he can erase.
Getting any student loan forgiveness – including those proposals more modest than Carter’s – through Congress will be difficult. Several Republicans are opposed or reluctant to taking such action.
Carter also filed a second piece of legislation — one that would allow the federal Environmental Protection Agency to work with states to clean up sites plagued by air pollution — and possibly to relocate residents who are affected. Carter said Richmond had filed a similar piece of legislation when he was in Congress.
Carter’s district contains a large swath of Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” between Baton Rouge and New Orleans – where heavy industry appears to have contributed to poorer health outcomes for residents.
Louisiana Illuminator (www.lailluminator.com) is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization.
This article originally published in the August 16, 2021 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
