Over 50 Orgs Applaud Bicameral Resolution Calling on Biden to Cancel $50K of Student Debt

We applaud Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Elizabeth Warren; Representatives Pressley, Adams, Bowman, Jones, Omar, and Torres; and Chairwoman Waters for their bicameral resolution urging President Biden to take executive action to cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt using legal authorities already granted by Congress. Cancelling student debt will provide both immediate financial relief to millions of Americans and crucial economic stimulus for everyone during this protracted crisis. This action would also boost GDP and job creation at a time of intense labor shocks and economic uncertainty.

As nearly 330 community, civil rights, climate, health, consumer, labor, and student advocacy organizations noted in a recent letter to the Biden-Harris administration:

• Student debt exacerbates existing racial inequities; cancellation will help reduce the racial wealth gap. Black Americans—and particularly Black women—are more likely to take on student loan debt and struggle with repayment. 
• Cancellation will provide a much-needed economic stimulus. Research shows that student debt cancellation catalyzes drastic, positive changes for borrowers, particularly for those not current on their loans.

• Federal student debt cancellation could have a positive impact on health outcomes. Debt is associated with negative mental and physical health outcomes such as stress, depression, worse self-reported general health, higher diastolic blood pressure, obesity, and even mortality. Research has also shown a connection between debt and foregone medical care. 

With this resolution, Members of Congress are sending a clear message to the administration: Cancelling up to $50,000 of federal student debt would disproportionately help borrowers of color, respond to the coronavirus crisis, and provide much-needed economic relief and stimulus. We support this effort encouraging the administration to use its power under existing law to improve the lives of millions of Americans, and we call for the resolution’s swift adoption. 

Signatories 

National Groups: 

American Association of University Professors
American Medical Student Association
Americans for Financial Reform
Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents [ALAS]
Blue Future
Center for Responsible Lending
Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues
Girls Inc.
Indivisible
Japanese American Citizens League
Media Voices for Children
Minority Veterans of America
NAACP
National Association of Social Workers
National Center for Law and Economic Justice
National Children’s Campaign
National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients)
National Education Association
OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates
Oil Change U.S.
People’s Parity Project
Protect All Children’s Environment
Public Citizen
Public Counsel
Rachel Carson Council
School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA)
Student Borrower Protection Center
Student Debt Crisis
The Feminist Front (FF)
United Church of Christ, Justice and Local Church Ministries
Young Invincibles

State Groups:

AFT Washington
AFT-Oregon
AFT-Oregon
Church Women United in New York State
Civil Service Bar Association
Consumer Federation of California
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Texas
Fayetteville Police Accountability Community Taskforce
Georgia Watch
Housing and Economic Rights Advocates
Let My People Vote
Louisiana Budget Project
Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
New Era Colorado
New Jersey Citizen Action
New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
Ohio Student Association
Piedmont Alliance for the Prevention of Substance Abuse
South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center
The Midas Collaborative
Tzedek DC
United Vision for Idaho
Women Employed
Zero Debt Massachusetts