[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 69 (Wednesday, April 27, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S2174]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Student Loan Debt

  Madam President, now on student debt, for over a year, one of my top 
priorities as majority leader has been urging President Biden to cancel 
$50,000 in student debt for each student loan borrower. Right now, as 
discussions continue within the administration about the future of 
student debt, I again call on the President to take action, which he 
can do on his own, and hit the financial reset button for millions and 
millions of Americans.
  President Biden has done the right thing by continuing the moratorium 
on student loan payments. His actions have saved millions from 
financial ruin during the COVID crisis. But borrowers don't just need 
their debts paused; they need them erased. These extensions have been 
crucial, but borrowers can't indefinitely plan out their financial 
futures 3 months at a time with the fear hanging over them that 
payments would resume down the line.
  With the flick of a pen, President Biden could provide millions upon 
millions of student loan borrowers a new lease on life. He can do it 
without congressional action, because we know so many of our colleagues 
on the other side of the aisle are opposed to it. He can do it without 
congressional action.
  It is the right thing to do for our country. For generations, higher 
education has been a ladder up into getting into the middle class, 
especially for Black, Latino, and Asian Americans. Unfortunately, 
student debt has become not a ladder up but an anchor down, weighing 
Americans down. It makes it harder for borrowers to start a family, to 
buy a home or a car or live with financial independence.
  For borrowers of color, the anxieties are magnified, often tenfold. 
Take this for example: The White median borrower would only owe an 
average of 6 percent of their student loans 20 years after starting 
college. Meanwhile, the median Black borrower would still owe a 
staggering 95 percent of their student loan debt in that same time 
span. Imagine being closer to retirement than to college and realizing 
you have only made a dent in your student loans. Millions of borrowers 
of color--millions more borrowers in general--live with this reality.
  Once again, borrowers don't need their debts paused; they need them 
erased. This isn't just the right thing to do for our economy; it is 
the right thing to do for racial equity. I will keep urging the 
President to take this important step.
  I will say to my colleagues, I think the President is moving in the 
right direction. My talks with him and the staff have been very 
fruitful over the last little while, and I am hopeful that he will do 
the right thing. We are getting closer. We are getting closer.