Nearly 600,000 student-loan borrowers no longer have to worry about 'getting lied to or cheated' after Biden wiped out their debt, a top Democrat says — and she thinks it's time to do the same for all borrowers

• Biden just wiped out student debt for all remaining student defrauded by for-profit Corinthian Colleges.
• Sen. Patty Murray lauded the relief – and said it should be provided to every other borrower.

President Joe Biden just gave thousands of student-loan borrowers relief. A top Democratic lawmaker says it's time to extend the benefit to everyone else.

On Wednesday, Biden's Education Department announced all remaining 560,000 student-loan borrowers defrauded by now-defunct for-profit Corinthian Colleges will be getting $5.8 billion in debt wiped out. Corinthian shut down in 2015 following investigations into the chain's predatory behavior that misled students into taking on more debt than they could afford to pay off, and since then, lawmakers like Senator Patty Murray — the chair of the Senate education committee — have been fighting to ensure those borrowers get the relief they deserve.

"Today, every single borrower ripped off by Corinthian Colleges can finally breathe a huge sigh of relief knowing that they will no longer be saddled with debt and anxiety," Murray said in a statement. "No student working towards a higher education should ever have to worry about getting lied to or cheated by their institution—and they absolutely shouldn't have to stress about being denied the debt relief they are owed."

"But we can't stop here," Murray added. She called for Biden to provide relief to all federal borrowers, along with extending the pause on student-loan payments — now set to end after August 31 — through 2023 to allow time to fix broken loan forgiveness programs.

Pressure is building on Biden to deliver on his student-loan forgiveness campaign pledge. He said over a month ago he would make a decision "in the next couple of weeks" on broad student-loan relief, and while he has yet to make an announcement, recent reports suggested he is considering $10,000 in loan forgiveness for borrowers making under $150,000 a year.

Many Democratic lawmakers have expressed disappointment Biden is not considering a larger amount, especially if millions of borrowers will be thrown back into repayment in September. While Biden has extended the payment pause four times while in office, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona recently said that "at some point, people are going to have to start paying what they can afford to pay." And Brian Deese, White House director of the National Economic Council, said during a press briefing this week that student-loan relief will likely have a "quite small" impact on inflation because restarting loan payments will balance it out.

But since Biden extended the most recent pause in April, Murray has been calling for an additional extension to allow time for broad student-loan relief and permanent reforms to income-driven repayment plans and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which have shut many borrowers out from deserved relief.

"This pause is urgently needed and will take stress off the shoulders of so many borrowers, but we need long-lasting change and a student loan system that actually works for students and borrowers—not just quick fixes," Murray previously said.