Cross-posted from the Center for Responsible Lending Joint Statement: Narrowing Student Debt Cancellation in Heroes Act Leaves Out Millions We, the 9 undersigned organizations, write to share our concerns about proposed changes to the student debt relief provisions in the Heroes Act. The original Heroes
As Congress considers the next steps to rebuild the U.S. economy, student debt cancellation must remain a priority. Speaker Pelosi said that the third pillar of the Heroes Act is “putting much-needed money into the pockets of the American people.” Narrowing the student debt cancellation provisions in the HEROES Act surrenders a crucial tool to address this economic crisis that would do exactly that.
The HEROES Act provides needed relief to the 45 million student loan borrowers in the U.S., tackling the ongoing economic fallout caused by the coronavirus with an approach that research shows would boost the economy overall. HEROES includes $10,000 in federal student debt cancellation, which would leave as estimated 16 million borrowers completely debt-free. It also extends the CARES Act suspension of student loan payments to September 2021, giving borrowers a chance to recover on the same timeline the economy is projected to need to return to pre-coronavirus productivity.
The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) released a bipartisan poll today showing that Americans around the country and across partisan identities strongly support student debt reduction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
AFR and SBPC Send Letter to Navient Demanding Investment in Student Borrowers, not Shareholders Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) and The Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) sent a letter to the Board of Directors of Navient Corporation urging the company’s board to halt dividends and
Today, 69 community, civil rights, consumer, and student advocacy organizations sent a letter to House and Senate leadership, urging them to include student debt cancellation in the next coronavirus package. The letter also calls on leadership to extend the suspension of payments on federal student loans through March 2021, as current estimates indicate that the economy will not recover to pre-virus levels until the third quarter of 2021.
The McConnell Phase 3 #COVID19 bill offers only minor tweaks for some federal student loan borrowers. Even with those tweaks, the bill fails to address the enormity of the pending economic crisis. The economic dam is about to burst and McConnell is offering student loan borrowers nothing but a deflated, leaky life vest.
The Trump Administration’s minor tweaks for some federal student loan borrowers are insufficient and fail to tackle the crisis. The Department of Education announced that borrowers with federally held student loans will have the option to suspend payments, but will need to contact their servicer in order to request it. This requires effort on the part of borrowers who are already under stress. This is coming at a time when many student loan servicers are closing call centers or reducing hours. Worse still, it leaves out some federal student loan borrowers whose loans are not federally held.
The 20 undersigned community, civil rights, consumer, and student advocacy organizations applaud the Senate Democrats’ student debt cancellation proposal. The plan will take decisive action to get immediate and impactful relief to millions of Americans. It will enable many economically distressed borrowers to focus on their own personal safety and that of others, while also freeing up extra dollars they can use to put back into the economy.
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