The following is a statement by Brian McLain, chair of the Iowa Democratic Party’s Progressive Caucus, on behalf of the state caucus leadership:

Too long the student loan industry has been a chain around the neck of the working class and so predatory it would make payday lender’s blush. On August 24, President Joe Biden released his long awaited plan to offer relief to borrowers suffering under the burden and weight of oppressive student debt. We applaud the president on making this unprecedented policy a reality.

This relief will wipe out debt for millions of struggling working-class families or bring them within striking distance of conquering that once insurmountable burden. This relief will be life-changing for so many, and we rejoice in their new found freedom.

This is only the first step, however, and there is still much to be done. Therefore, the Progressive Caucus calls on Iowa’s Democratic U.S. Representative Cindy Axne to take on a leadership role: make sure sure that all victims of this predatory system are made whole, and introduce legislation that cancels all student debt and makes any principal paid over the past 20 years tax deductible, with no sunset on the deduction.

The Progressive Caucus also calls on our Democratic candidates to support and amplify to all student debt cancellation and advocate for tuition-free universal higher education for all.  

Top photo: President Joe Biden announces his administration’s student loan debt relief policy on August 24 as U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona watches. Originally posted on the president’s Twitter feed.