[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 23 (Monday, February 8, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S582-S583]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 46--CALLING ON THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO 
   TAKE EXECUTIVE ACTION TO BROADLY CANCEL FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN DEBT

  Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Ms. Warren, Mr. Brown, Mr. Durbin, Ms. 
Duckworth, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Markey, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Schatz, Mr. 
Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Menendez, Mr. 
Sanders, and Mr. Ossoff) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                               S. Res. 46

       Whereas the United States is facing historic public health 
     and economic crises caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) 
     pandemic that threatens the financial well-being of nearly 
     every American family;
       Whereas even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the United 
     States also faced a historic student loan crisis, which is 
     currently holding back our struggling economy and restricting 
     opportunity and prosperity for millions of American families;
        Whereas nearly 43,000,000 Americans currently hold more 
     than $1,500,000,000,000 in Federal student loan debt;
        Whereas more than 9,000,000 Federal student loan borrowers 
     are currently in default on those Federal student loans;
        Whereas the COVID-19 economic recession and historic 
     unemployment have compounded stagnant wages, labor market 
     discrimination, and rising costs of living, making it nearly 
     impossible for many Americans to ever fully repay their 
     student loans;
        Whereas this historic student debt crisis has left 
     millions of Americans less prepared to weather the recession 
     triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic as Black and Brown 
     communities, which never fully recovered from the devastating 
     effects of the previous economic recession, have been hit 
     hardest by the devastating health and economic consequences 
     of the COVID-19 pandemic;
        Whereas student debt disproportionately impacts Black and 
     Brown borrowers, who face the worst effects of the student 
     debt crisis, with--
       (1) Black households disproportionately holding the most 
     debt, compared to other households;
       (2) Black students, due to ongoing structural barriers that 
     have resulted in persistent racial inequities in incomes and 
     wealth, forced to accrue more student debt and more often 
     than their White peers;
       (3) Black student borrowers struggling more in student loan 
     repayment, including defaulting at higher rates than their 
     White peers;
       (4) nearly half of Black graduates owing more on their 
     undergraduate student loans 4 years after graduation than 
     they did when they received their degree;
       (5) the median Black student borrower owing 95 percent of 
     their debt 20 years after starting college, while the median 
     White student borrower owing 6 percent of their debt after 
     such period;
       (6) Latino student borrowers, who borrow at rates similar 
     to their White peers despite having lower household incomes 
     and significantly less household wealth, are more likely than 
     their White peers to default on their student loans;
       (7) within 6 years of starting school, Latino borrowers are 
     almost twice as likely to default on their student loans, in 
     comparison to their White peers; and
       (8) women of color, particularly Black women, on average 
     take on more student loan debt than members of any other 
     group and are more likely to face difficulties repaying 
     student loans;
       Whereas parents, grandparents, and older individuals are 
     especially vulnerable to the burden of student loan debt, as 
     people over the age of 50 are most likely to default on their 
     student loans and over 114,000 retired people have had their 
     Social Security benefits garnished due to their student 
     loans;
       Whereas almost \1/3\ of the outstanding Federal student 
     loan debt is held by individuals who did not complete their 
     degree or program, and nearly 40 percent of Federal student 
     loan borrowers have no degree 6 years after enrolling in 
     college;
       Whereas Black students and other students who have attended 
     Historically Black Colleges and Universities have had to bear 
     a larger share of student loan debt because of the historic 
     and continued underfunding of these institutions at the State 
     and Federal levels;
        Whereas student loan debt cancellation for the families 
     that need it most can substantially increase Black and Latino 
     household wealth and help close racial wealth gaps;
        Whereas women hold more than two-thirds of the Nation's 
     student loan debt and must borrow an average of $3,000 more 
     than men to attend higher education;
        Whereas, if left unaddressed, the student debt crisis will 
     worsen inequality, exacerbate the current recession, widen 
     the racial wealth gap, and slow economic recovery;
        Whereas broad student loan debt cancellation is the most 
     efficient and effective solution to our student debt crisis, 
     would help millions of families, and would remove a 
     significant drag holding back our economy;
        Whereas broad student loan debt cancellation would provide 
     immediate relief to millions of American families who are 
     struggling during this pandemic and recession, and prevent 
     them from having an unsustainable student debt burden waiting 
     for them once this pandemic is over;
        Whereas broad student loan debt cancellation would provide 
     a boost to our struggling economy through a consumer-driven 
     economic stimulus, greater home-buying rates and housing 
     stability, expanded access to more affordable financial 
     products including car loans and mortgages, higher college 
     completion rates, and greater small business formation;
        Whereas more than 230 community, civil rights, consumer, 
     and student advocacy organizations have urged student loan 
     debt cancellation for all borrowers in response to the COVID-
     19 pandemic public health and economic crises;
       Whereas cancelling up to $50,000 in Federal student loan 
     debt per borrower is the most equitable way to ensure the 
     benefits of cancellation reach the borrowers most in need of 
     relief because that action would lift a disproportionate 
     number of low-income borrowers and Black and Latino borrowers 
     completely out of student debt, including nearly 90 percent 
     of all borrowers in the lowest income quintile and over 90 
     percent of Black and Latino borrowers in the lowest income 
     quartile;
       Whereas borrowers who would receive full student loan debt 
     cancellation if the Federal Government cancelled $50,000 per 
     borrower in student loan debt have lower income and assets 
     than the borrowers who would receive partial cancellation if 
     the Federal Government took that action;
        Whereas 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 grants 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'';
        Whereas, in 2020, the Department of Education reportedly 
     used this authority to implement relief for Federal student 
     loan borrowers during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
       Whereas, on June 29, 2020, President Donald J. Trump, with 
     the support of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, vetoed 
     H.J. Res. 76 ``Providing for congressional disapproval under 
     chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule 
     submitted by the Department of Education relating to 
     `Borrower Defense Institutional Accountability' '', blocking 
     a resolution that passed Congress with bipartisan support to 
     overturn a Department of Education rule that makes it harder 
     for defrauded Federal student loan borrowers to see their 
     loans discharged: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the Secretary of Education's broad 
     administrative authority to cancel Federal student loan debt 
     under the existing authorities of section 432(a) of the 
     Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1082(a));
       (2) calls on the President of the United States to take 
     executive action to broadly cancel up to $50,000 in Federal 
     student loan

[[Page S583]]

     debt for Federal student loan borrowers administratively 
     using existing legal authorities under such section 432(a), 
     and any other authorities available under the law;
       (3) encourages the President of the United States, in 
     taking such executive action, to use the executive's 
     authority under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to ensure 
     no tax liability for Federal student loan borrowers resulting 
     from administrative debt cancellation;
       (4) encourages the President of the United States, in 
     taking such executive action, to ensure that administrative 
     debt cancellation helps close racial wealth gaps and avoids 
     the bulk of Federal student loan debt cancellation benefits 
     accruing to the wealthiest borrowers; and
       (5) encourages the President of the United States to 
     continue to pause student loan payments and interest 
     accumulation for Federal student loan borrowers for the 
     entire duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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