Biden, Congress and student loan forgiveness: What is the federal government doing to address the issue?

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

69% : Democrats have remained clear in their message: Biden has the power to forgive student loans through executive order.
58% : Nearly 44 million Americans owe about $1.7 trillion in student loans, according to Federal Reserve data.
57% : Biden has forgiven about $1.5 billion in student loan debt for about 92,000 borrowers, according to the Education Department.
56% : The President has the power to deal with student loans on his own."
54% : Generally, congressional Republicans haven't supported widespread relief towards student loans, but still acknowledge the crisis facing students and borrowers.
53% : Democrats in Congress are calling on Biden to extend the relief on loan payments and interest, which have effectively cancelled billions in student loan interest for borrowers.
52% : WASHINGTON - For millions of Americans, Sept. 30 marks the end of nearly a year-and-a-half of relief on student loan payments -- unless the government extends it, or tackles the issue at hand.
52% : He said earlier this year he did not believe he has the authority to forgive student loans by executive order.
52% : "Widespread cancellation is urgently needed to get both student loan borrowers back on track after the pandemic, but also the student loan system as a whole," she said.
52% : The new letters follow a larger call in June when 60 Democratic lawmakers called on Biden to extend a pause on student loan payments and interest so as not to "drag down the pace" of the country's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
50% : Now, as the deadline approaches, Democrats are not only calling on the White House to extend the forgiveness once again, but to take lasting action towards forgiving student loans -- which reached record high numbers in 2020.
50% : Legal experts largely disagree as to whether Biden can forgive large sums of student loans -- especially on private loans.
47% : Largely, Republicans do not want broad forgiveness of student loans.
47% : An administration official told USA TODAY "Biden continues to look into what debt relief actions can be taken administratively" and said the Education and Justice departments are working with the White House "to review options with respect to debt cancellation."
45% : The department recently hired a new general counsel, Toby Merrill, whose research is often cited by progressives and Warren as saying the president can legally cancel $50,000 in student debt.
45% : "The responses to our inquiry indicate that neither student loan borrowers nor student loan servicers are prepared for payments to resume, and servicers will need significant time to ensure that staffing and procedures are ready to provide borrowers with a high level of support," the letter reads.
43% : Yu said she couldn't "speculate on what will ultimately influence the decision" but said Merrill has "reached the conclusion that administrative debt cancellation is legal."
40% : Liberal activists and lawmakers have remained persistent in urging the president to cancel student loan debt -- with the amounts ranging from $10,000 to $50,000.
40% : But he then asked the Justice and Education Departments later to explore the president's authority to cancel student loan debt.
35% : Biden still weighing options for forgiving student loan debt
34% : "I know that the president can cancel student loan debt, and the way I know, is because President Obama did it.
32% : Biden administration cancels additional $55.6 million in student debt
31% : That pushes student loans to Biden's court, since enacting student loan forgiveness through separate legislation will be difficult in an evenly split Senate.
14% : Even Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has insisted Biden has the power to cancel student debt without Congress: "All you need is the flick of a pen."

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