{"id":6877,"date":"2021-02-04T16:14:54","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T16:14:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/press-releases\/sen-jon-ossoff-colleagues-call-on-president-biden-to-broadly-cancel-student-loan-debt-2\/"},"modified":"2021-09-14T20:20:36","modified_gmt":"2021-09-14T20:20:36","slug":"sen-jon-ossoff-colleagues-call-on-president-biden-to-broadly-cancel-student-loan-debt-2","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/sen-jon-ossoff-colleagues-call-on-president-biden-to-broadly-cancel-student-loan-debt-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Jon Ossoff, Colleagues Call on President Biden to Broadly Cancel Student Loan Debt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Resolution calls on the President to use Executive Authority to cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Move would help boost economy amid COVID-19 recession<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Washington, D.C<\/strong>. \u2014 Today, Georgia U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff joined with his Senate and House colleagues to introduce a bicameral resolution calling on President Joe Biden to use his authority to broadly cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower to alleviate the financial challenges many are facing in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Led by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Congresswoman Ayana Pressley (D-Mass), the resolution calls on the President to use executive authority to cancel student loan debt and ensure there is no tax liability for Federal student loan borrowers resulting from administrative debt cancellation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cThe burden of student debt is crushing young Georgians and damaging our economy. I applaud the President\u2019s suspension of federal student loan debt payments and interest through September, and we are calling on him to go further and use his authority to cancel up to $50,000 of federal student debt per individual, delivering the permanent student loan debt relief millions of Georgians and our economy desperately need,\u201d said Senator Ossoff.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research shows that broad student debt cancellation would boost our struggling economy through a consumer-driven stimulus and help close racial wealth gaps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, over 43 million people<\/a> in the United States are buried under $1.6 trillion<\/a> in federal student loan debt. Studies show that cancelling student debt would substantially increase Black and Latinx household wealth and help narrow the racial wealth gap<\/a>, provide immediate relief to millions of Americans during the pandemic and recession, and provide massive consumer-driven stimulus to our economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over 325 civil rights, climate, health, labor, consumer rights, and student organizations have called on President Biden<\/a> to cancel federal student debt using executive action, including American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, The Education Trust, Hispanic Federation, NAACP, National Urban League, UnidosUS, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Minority Veterans of America, National Women\u2019s Law Center,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEIU, the American Psychological Association, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congress has already granted the Secretary of Education the legal authority to broadly cancel student debt<\/a> under section 432(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1082(a)), which gives the Secretary the authority to modify, “… compromise, waive, or release any right, title, claim, lien, or demand, however acquired, including any equity or any right of redemption.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Education has used this authority<\/a> to implement modest relief for federal student loan borrowers during the COVID-19 pandemic.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This resolution:<\/p>\n\n\n\n