Sign the petition to President Biden: Release the Memo and Cancel Student Debt
President Biden has yet to uphold his campaign pledge to cancel $10,000 in student debt per borrower. It is a moral imperative that the administration take a broad-based approach to this issue, and work to cancel over $50,000 in student debt per borrower.
But Biden won't even release a legal memo, which has been sitting on his desk since April, that details his authority to broadly cancel student debt. This memo's information is crucial to ensuring economic prosperity for millions who are drowning under the student debt crisis.
This crisis is crushing our economy (over $1.7 trillion worth), and deferring the hopes and dreams of Americans: people cannot buy a home, start a business or start a family. It is especially pronounced in communities of color, and it chases borrowers into their retirement years. In addition, The Government Accountability Office found that 50% of federal borrowers are at risk of falling into delinquency or falling behind on payments.
While a moratorium on loan payments has offeredtemporary relief, borrowers are expected to resume payments on May 1st—despite the federal student loan program being woefully under-prepared to resume the repayment process.
Canceling $50,000 in student debt per borrower would give 36 million Americans permanent relief. It is "the single most effective executive action President Biden could take to jump-start our economy and begin to narrow the racial wealth gap," said Senator Elizabeth Warren.
It is clear that the first step is to publicly release the U.S. Department of Education memo.
On January 25, Warren and 80+ members in both houses of Congress sent a letter to the White House—urging Biden to release the legal memo and to then cancel student debt.
"Publicly releasing outlining your existing authority on canceling student debt and broadly doing so is crucial to making a meaningful difference in the lives of current students, borrowers and their families," said the letter.
Sign the petition to President Biden: Release the memo, and then cancel student debt.
Participating OrganizationsErica Smith for Congress
Jessica Mason for Congress
Barrier to Entry PAC
Broward for Progress
Daily Kos
Demand Progress
Democracy For America
Future Coalition
OD Action