FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 19, 2020 CONTACT: Alexis Goldstein, alexis@ourfinancialsecurity.org Senate Democrats Plan to Cancel Student Debt Would Stimulate the Economy and Provide Crucial Relief to Borrowers Statement from Alexis Goldstein, Senior Policy Analyst, Americans for Financial Reform: “The Senate Democrats plan to cancel student
State and local governments are the main providers of basic public services in the U.S. They are on the front lines of combating the Covid-19 pandemic, the most serious public-health threat in a century. But it’s unlikely these governments will have the funds they need to fight the epidemic properly unless Congress acts to require the Federal Reserve to expand state and local fiscal powers.
The Coronavirus pandemic is a health crisis like we have never seen before, and it is colliding with the economic crisis of this generation — student loan debt. Lost wages and medical costs will impact families across the country for weeks, months, and years to
The COVID-19 pandemic requires an aggressive economic response that creates the best possible conditions to preserve public health and helps individuals, families, and communities weather the disruptions that efforts to contain the pandemic require.
Coalition letter responding to OMB RFI on the important role of current regulatory enforcement processes
AFREF and partners sent a letter to FHFA on how FHFA should approach PACE loans.
Coalition letter to HUD opposing changes to AFFH rule.
AFREF joined a letter to FHFA expressing that rather than imposing punitive measures on consumers, FHFA and Enterprises should use their authority and influence over the housing finance market to incentivize PACE lenders and state actors to enhance consumer protections and adopt policies that limit risk to the Enterprises.
“With so many facing the prospect of lost wages or lost jobs, the government can and should do more than waive interest, which is merely an economic Band-Aid on the gaping financial wound the pandemic is causing,” said Alexis Goldstein, senior policy analyst at the liberal think tank Americans for Financial Reform. “The Education Department has the authority to cancel student debt, and using it would mean both short- and medium-term economic stimulus that helps all Americans.”
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating economic impact, Americans for Financial Reform calls on Congress and the U.S. Department of Education to use their authority to cancel federal student loan debt. Cancelling debt would be a powerful and efficient way to immediately relieve pressure on distressed borrowers, boost consumer spending at a time when the economy is contracting, and reduce hardship on people who lose income because of the pandemic and efforts to fight its spread.