Robert Menendez

01/26/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/26/2022 19:47

Menendez, Booker Host Virtual Roundtable with New Jersey Students and Advocates Calling for President Biden to Cancel $50,000 of Student Loan Debt

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) was joined today by Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) alongside New Jersey advocates and students to re-iterate their call for the Biden Administration to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt before the end of the emergency deferment period on May 1, 2022. Broad student debt cancellation would bring relief to approximately 1.1 million N.J. borrowers owing a total of $42.4 billion in federal student debt.

On Tuesday, the Senators also joined a letter with more than 80 Senate and House colleagues calling on the Biden administration to release the Department of Education's (ED) memo outlining the administration's legal authority to cancel federal student loan debt and immediately cancel up to $50,000 of debt for Federal student loan borrowers.

"For far too many New Jerseyans and especially people of color, crippling student loan debt has turned the promise of a college education into a decades-long burden," said Sen. Menendez. "For many, it has meant forgoing their dreams of purchasing a home, starting families, or launching new businesses. Student loan debt has perpetuated inequities that continue to hold back communities of color and that were worsened by the pandemic."

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"But the good news is that President Biden can take action now through the Higher Education Act of 1965 and transform the lives of millions of Americans," added Sen. Menendez.

A 2021 report by the Education Data Initiative found that Black graduates owe an average of $25,000 more in student loan debt than their White counterparts. Within six years of graduating college, 32 percent of Black borrowers and 20 percent of Latino borrowers defaulted on their loans, compared to just 13 percent of their White peers.

The Education Data Initiative estimates that cancelling student loan debt could grow the nation's GDP by over $600 billion over six years, create 1.5 million new jobs, and lift 5.2 million households out of poverty.

Senators Menendez and Booker have advocated for the cancellation of $50,000 of student loan debt, which would infuse billions of dollars into the national economy and help fuel a recovery from the economic recession caused by the pandemic. It would also help close the racial and gender wealth gap amongst Black and Latino students who have disproportionately shouldered the burden of discriminatory policies and faced systemic barriers for generations.

"The student loan crisis has defined an entire generation with millions of people across our nation being forced to put off major life decisions such as buying a home, starting a business, or starting a family because of crippling debt obligations," said Sen. Booker. "This crisis is a matter of economic justice for so many Americans. It's also an issue of racial justice as the burden of student loan debt falls disproportionately on Black and Brown graduates. I was grateful for the opportunity today to meet with students and advocates who have made this issue a priority and given it the urgent attention that it deserves. Their input will continue to inform my work in the Senate."

"New Jersey's racial wealth gap is one of the worst in the nation, causing vast disparities in the need for financial aid to fund higher education. That means more Black students are likely to take on student loans, borrow in larger amounts and default on their loans than their white peers," said Ryan Haygood, President & CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. "Student loans once served as a valuable resource in helping students achieve economic mobility. Now, they entrap Black and brown students in debt. This vicious cycle needs to end. We need to cancel student debt so New Jersey's Black and brown students can thrive."


"I am grateful to Senator Menendez for inviting Kean to be part of this important national conversation about reducing student loan debt," said Lamont O. Repollet, Ed.D., president of Kean University. "At Kean, we focus on equity and providing affordable world-class education to all students. Reducing student debt is critical to supporting young people across this country, particularly individuals of color or those who are the first in their families to go to college and face additional barriers to success. We look forward to continuing this dialogue and finding solutions for the generations of college students to come."

"Canceling student loan debt would be a game changer for individuals who are struggling to meet their monthly payments," said Velva Dawson, a New Jersey resident and graduate of Howard University. "Low post-graduation wages, predatory lending practices and most importantly, disparities in long term earnings in communities of color, have created an enormous burden for minority students. This action could set the record straight."

"While many components of President Biden's budget appeared to be encouraging, when it came to addressing America's racial wealth gap, it failed to address a key issue at the core of the racial wealth gap, the student loan debt crisis," said Richard Smith, President of the New Jersey NAACP. "The NAACP, along with numerous other civil rights organizations have been and are calling on President Biden to cancel $50,000 in student debt per person to begin to close the racial and wealth disparities in the country that put borrowers on the brink of financial devastation. Three months remain and the clock is ticking! President Biden CANCEL THE DEBT!"

SenatorsMenendez and Bookerhave advocated canceling up to $50,000 in student loan debt. In December, Sen. Menendez repeated his calls to President Biden to cancel student loan debt up to $50,000 by exercising his executive authority through the Higher Education Act of 1965. Also inDecember, Sens. Menendez and Booker sent a letter urging the Department of Education to suspend administrative wage garnishment of student loan borrowers.Earlier in 2020, Sen. Menendez authoredthe Student Loan Tax Relief Act, along with Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), which exempts forgiven student loan debt from tax liability through 2026, and worked successfully to have it included in the American Rescue Plan. As a result of those efforts, the average student loan borrower will now save $2,200 in taxes for every $10,000 of forgiven student loans. Last February, Sens. Menendez, Booker, and Warren supported a bicameral resolutioncalling on the administration to use its authority to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt for federal borrowers. Sen. Menendez also has long-advocatedfor reform of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which has faced scrutiny for mismanagement since its inception in 2007, with only 1 to 2 percent of PSLF applicants being approved each year. In October, the Biden-Harris Administration proposed a sweeping overhaul of the PSLF Program.To read the full text of the letter sent today to President Biden and Education Secretary Cardoza, please CLICK HERE.