WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker Thursday joined their colleagues in introducing a bicameral resolution outlining a bold plan for President  Biden to tackle the student loan debt crisis by using his existing authority under the Higher Education Act to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt for Federal borrowers. 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. Both senators previously called on President Trump to cancel student loan debt.

“Long before the coronavirus reached our shores, millions of young people throughout New Jersey and the nation were overwhelmed by enormous and crushing student loan debt,” said Sen. Menendez. “Now, the suffering unleashed by this pandemic has many borrowers, especially in Black and Latino households, falling even more behind as they struggle to make mortgage and rent payments, buy groceries and afford child care and other expenses. President Biden has the authority to alleviate this burden, which would not only provide an immediate shot in the arm to our economy, but reduce the wealth disparities that continue to hurt our minority communities. Canceling up to $50,000 in student loan debt is the right thing to do for our families and the smart thing to do for our economy.”

“As we work to confront both the public health crisis and economic distress brought on by COVID-19 and deliver relief to those who need it the most, we must confront the crisis of mounting student loan debt that burdens 45 million Americans — disproportionately low-income and communities of color,” said Sen. Booker. “College students and graduates have been heavily impacted by this crisis and it is crucial that we provide them with relief. I encourage the President to use his authority to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt and make the long economic recovery ahead easier for millions of Americans who need it the most.”

Today, over 43 million people in the United States are buried under $1.6 trillion 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, provide immediate relief to millions of Americans during the pandemic and recession, and provide massive consumer-driven stimulus to our economy.

Congress has already granted the Secretary of Education the legal authority to broadly cancel student debt 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.” The Department of Education has used this authority to implement modest relief for federal student loan borrowers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This resolution:

• Reconoce la amplia autoridad administrativa del Secretario de Educación para cancelar hasta $50,000 en deuda federal de estudiantes, utilizando la autoridad de modificación y compromiso que el Congreso ya ha otorgado al Secretario en ley;
• Pide al presidente Biden que tome medidas ejecutivas para cancelar administrativamente hasta $50,000 en deuda federal de préstamos estudiantiles para prestatarios federales de préstamos para estudiantes utilizando las autoridades legales existentes en virtud de la sección 432 (a) de la Ley de Educación Superior de 1965 y cualquier autoridad disponible bajo la ley;
• Anima al presidente Biden a utilizar la autoridad del ejecutivo en virtud del Código de Rentas Internas de 1986 para evitar que la cancelación de la deuda administrativa genere un compromiso fiscal para los prestatarios;
• Alienta al presidente Biden, al tomar tales medidas ejecutivas, a garantizar que la cancelación de la deuda administrativa ayude a cerrar las brechas raciales de riqueza y evite la mayor parte de los beneficios federales de cancelación del deuda estudiantil que se acumulan a los prestatarios más ricos; y
• Alienta al presidente Biden a que continúe pausing los pagos de préstamos estudiantiles y la acumulación de intereses para los prestatarios de préstamos para estudiantes federales durante toda la duración de la pandemia COVID-19.

Over 325 civil rights, climate, health, labor, consumer rights, and student organizations have called on President Biden 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’s Law Center, SEIU, the American Psychological Association, Sunrise Movement, the United States Student Association, and Young Invincibles.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) and Bernie Sanders also joined the resolution.

U.S. Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.-05), Maxine Waters (Calif.-43), Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, Alma Adams (N.C.-12), Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.-16), Mondaire Jones (N.Y.-17) and Ritchie Torres (N.Y.-15), Nanette Barragan (Calif.-44), Earl Blumenauer (Ore.-03), Cori Bush (Missour-01), Yvette Clarke (N.Y.-09), Steve Cohen (Tenn.-09), Veronica Escobar (Tex.-16), Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.-13), Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (Ill.-04), Jimmy Gomez (Calif.-34), Vicente Gonzalez (Tex.-15), Raul Grijalva (Ariz.-03), Alcee Hastings (Fla.-02), Jahana Hayes (Conn.-05), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.-07), Hank Johnson (Ga.-04), Ro Khanna (Calif.-17), Al Lawson (Fla.-05), Barbara Lee (Calif.-13), Andy Levin (Mich.-09), Alan Lowenthal (Calif.-47), James P. McGovern (Mass.-02), Grace Meng (N.Y.-06), Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.-10), Grace Napolitano (Calif.-32), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.), Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (N.Y.-14), Jimmy Panetta (Calif.-20), Jan Schakowsky (Ill.-09), Albio Sires (N.J.-08), Bennie Thompson (Miss.-02), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.-13), Nydia Velazquez (N.Y.-07), Bonnie Watson Coleman (N.J.-12), Nikema Williams (Ga.-05), Frederica Wilson (Fla.-24), Madeleine Dean (Pa.-04), Brendan Boyle (Pa.-02), André Carson (Ind.-07) and Mark Pocan (Ind.-07) also joined the resolution.