April 28 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden is not considering $50,000 in debt reduction for student loans, he said during the tail end of a news conference on Thursday.
Biden said he is close to reaching a decision on any further debt forgiveness.
In mid-April, the Department of Education said it would immediately cancel the student debt of up to 40,000 borrowers under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
"The first thing we did was reform the system that was in place that didn't work for anybody, that allowed people to write off debt if they engaged in public service," Biden said Thursday.
"Secondly, I am considering dealing with some debt reduction. I am not considering $50,000 debt reduction. But I'm in the process of taking a hard look at whether or not there are going to -- there will be additional debt forgiveness, and I'll have an answer on that in the next couple of weeks."
Several thousand borrowers with older loans will also receive forgiveness through income-driven repayment and more than 3.6 million borrowers will receive at least three years of additional credit toward income-driven forgiveness, according to Federal Student Aid, the largest provider of financial aid for college and university students in the United States.
Democrats -- including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York -- have been pushing Biden to do more.
