FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 23, 2023 Contact: Cody Hounanian cody@studentdebtcrisis.org
Student Debt Crisis Center Condemns Effort to Strip Student Debt Relief From 40 Million Americans, Urges Congress to Vote “NO” on CRA
(Washington D.C.) – The Student Debt Crisis Center is deeply concerned about the impending vote on the Congressional Review Act (CRA) which would overturn the Biden Administration's actions to address the student debt crisis. This action would inflict immediate and devastating consequences on tens of millions of borrowers who are still struggling to recover from the profound impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout. The CRA will retroactively end the pause on federal student loan payments and interest accrual, as well as block President Biden's debt relief plan. If passed, the CRA would force student loan payments to start immediately; it would reverse relief borrowers already received through Public Service Loan Forgiveness; and it would task the Department of Education with clawing back relief from families who depend on it.
SDCC urges lawmakers to vote “NO” to oppose the CRA and reject efforts to overturn critical student debt relief. Americans broadly support the Biden Administration's efforts and oppose the CRA. SDCC supporters alone have sent over 111,000 letters to Congress, called legislators’ offices, and signed petitions urging representatives to reject this harmful resolution. By voting “NO”, they will stand in solidarity with families in their districts who are in dire need of relief.
"We implore every representative in Congress to reject this audacious assault on borrowers and to work towards ending the student debt crisis, rather than exacerbating it," said Natalia Abrams, President and Founder of the Student Debt Crisis Center. "Our adversaries have done nothing but erect obstacles for far too long. It is high time for policymakers to collaborate to achieve the solutions that advocates, experts, and ordinary individuals have fought for."
“Overturning the payment pause and forcing borrowers into immediate repayment would be catastrophic. It would inflict harm upon millions of Americans, particularly the most financially vulnerable among us, who are still struggling to recover from the pandemic," said Cody Hounanian, Executive Director of the Student Debt Crisis Center. “The CRA is a shocking abdication of lawmakers’ duty to support the financial health of families nationwide. We will not stand idly by while some lawmakers attempt to dismantle the progress we have painstakingly achieved."
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Student Debt Crisis Center (SDCC) is a non-profit organization centering the needs and voices of borrowers and partnering with allies, to impact public policy and end the student debt crisis. The center works directly with borrowers to help them navigate the bewildering and frustrating loan repayment system and advocates for lasting and meaningful change. It leads a people-powered movement representing over 2 million supporters. Learn more at www.studentdebtcrisis.org and follow SDCC on Twitter at @DebtCrisisOrg.