“We have to be exhaustive in our efforts to deliver broad-based student debt cancellation because borrowers are exhausted,” said Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, D-Ma
U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts held a roundtable discussion on student loan debt just days before federal repayments resume for millions of Americans on Oct. 1.
Pressley on Friday moderated the talk about student debt cancellation at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 52nd Annual Legislative Conference.
The Massachusetts lawmaker told theGrio that she decided to lead a discussion on the matter to give borrowers a sense of hope.
“I want people to know that we have not given up…and that there are tools available that can provide [borrowers] with some relief,” said Pressley.
She added, “We want to make sure they’re aware of state programs and public service” that will aid borrowers in repaying their student loans.
The congresswoman also told theGrio that she and her office provided onsite “counsel in real time about what [borrowers] are eligible for” following Friday’s discussion.
She said elected officials “have to be exhaustive in our efforts to deliver broad-based student debt cancellation because borrowers are exhausted.”
Pressley’s CBC session came a few months after the Supreme Court ruled against President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program that would have given millions of borrowers relief, as theGrio previously reported.
In August 2022, Biden unveiled a student debt program that would have eliminated up to $20,000 for qualified borrowers. However, the Supreme Court ruled that the president had no authority to do so.
Pressley told theGrio that executive action is the “most efficient and effective way to eradicate student debt,” but due to a “far-right imbalance” in the Supreme Court, it has become an uphill battle.
“Although President Biden had legal authority” to erase student debt, said Pressley, the Supreme Court “obstructed that progress that borrowers so desperately need and deserve.”
Pressley told theGrio that African Americans are disproportionately impacted by student debt.
“Although there have been gains made by Black Americans…we still don’t have generational wealth,” she said.
“When we say we live in a meritocracy and that education is the great equalizer, that means Black Americans are going to borrow at higher rates, and we are also defaulting at higher rates,” due to the wealth gap, Pressley continued.
Jonathan Petts, co-founder of Upsolve, a non-profit organization that aims to assist citizens with their finances, previously told theGrio, “Borrowers are struggling to just put food on the table.”
He said student borrowers applied for loans and were promised high-paying jobs that would permit them to pay off their loans, but “that hasn’t happened because of COVID and our economy.”
In recent years, many Americans have argued that higher education should be free.
Pressley told theGrio that she agrees with public opinion that the government “should invest in public education.”
“Tuition-free college [and] debt-free college are all policies that I’ve advocated for…I’ve been legislatively getting at this issue from every angle,” she said.
The congresswoman told theGrio earlier this year she secured funding to help expand Boston’s tuition-free community college program.
She said, “I will continue to champion free education.”
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