President Biden and the Department of Education Must Ensure Widespread Student Debt Relief

White House and Department of Education

Sign your name onto this letter calling on President Biden and the Department of Education to ensure widespread student debt relief is enacted in a way that ensures those most in need receive it! We can not let millions of borrowers continue to struggle for years to come under the financial burden of billions of dollars in student debt. We need widespread student debt cancellation now, not later!

To: White House and Department of Education
From: [Your Name]

As advocates, borrowers, and supporters of student debt cancellation, we want to make sure the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) finalizes the most effective and efficient proposal that will provide relief to as many borrowers as possible. This new plan for widespread student debt relief must address the following important topics:

Automatic implementation: The Department should ensure that debt relief is automatic for as many borrowers as possible—particularly those experiencing hardship—and the Department should not limit automatic relief just to those most at risk of default since we know that default is not the only indicator of financial struggle;

Young Borrowers: The Department should recognize that student debt is keeping too many Gen Z and millennials from building their futures and ensure that this authority is used robustly now and in the future to ensure that young borrowers and future borrowers aren't left behind;

Justice for borrowers who have experienced servicing failures: The Department should ensure that borrowers who have fallen victim to servicing failures are able to access automatic relief as a result of the hardship caused;

ED should not stop at waiving ballooning interest but also underlying balances: The Department should not limit one-time relief to ballooned interest alone, but should also make sure that borrowers see cancellation of their underlying balance as well—particularly borrowers that are more prone to be impacted by negative amortization—Black borrowers, borrowers that received a Pell Grant and borrowers who did not complete their degrees.

By ensuring a final rule includes these four pillars, widespread student debt cancellation will be a reality for millions of borrowers and positively affect their lives for years to come. The President and the Department of Education has shown it is trying to do what is right for borrowers across the country and has succeeded in some ways. This moment, however, can be the knockout punch that leads to the end of the student debt crisis!