Student Debt
Crisis Center
 

August 24, 2022 President Biden Takes Historic Action to Cancel Student Debt, Advocates Call for Additional Relief We applaud President Biden for being the first President in history to implement broad-based student debt cancellation. While we recognize that this action will benefit millions of families, we are concerned that the limited amount of relief ($10,000 or $20,000) and income cap ($125,000 per year) will block many struggling borrowers from having their debt canceled. We firmly believe that the President has the power to go further; SDCC urges President Biden to cancel more debt automatically to ensure lower-income and working-class families receive meaningful support, fully invest in addressing racial equity issues, and maximize the positive economic effects of debt cancellation. Today’s announcement also includes an extension of the payment pause for federal student loans until December 31, 2022. The payment pause has been a critical financial lifeline, and it will continue to be as families struggle with inflation and skyrocketing prices for essentials like food and gas. However, it is only a temporary bandage. This plan goes further by permanently canceling debt for some and holds the door open for future relief that will free more Americans from this debt. “Today’s announcement marks a historic moment and critical first step in the long fight to end the student debt crisis. Broad-based student debt cancellation will free millions of Americans to invest in their futures, support their families, and contribute to their communities and the economy. While this announcement is a major win for many, it is important to stress that $10,000 will leave many others still crushed by debt and important details will determine who has access to much-needed relief,” said Natalia Abrams, President & Founder of Student Debt Crisis Center. “We will continue to fight to support families with large debts, to further address racial equity issues, and to end the student debt crisis once and for all. SDCC, and this movement, would not be here without the support of two-million people. Together we are celebrating this win and preparing for more work ahead.” “We applaud the President for taking a critical first step in the right direction. At the same time, we believe it is important to recognize that millions of everyday people, hundreds of organizations, and dozens of allies in Congress worked tirelessly to push our movement this far. Today’s student debt cancellation announcement is the direct result of grassroots advocacy by hardworking people,” said Cody Hounanian, Executive Director of Student Debt Crisis Center. SDCC plans to address the President’s debt cancellation announcement Thursday, August 25th at its 10th Anniversary Event. The virtual event will include keynote speakers Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Elizabeth Warren. A panel of everyday borrowers and student loan policy experts explain where the movement to cancel debt goes from here. The event is from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm ET and is open to the public and the press. Register here >>. ### Student Debt Crisis is a nationwide advocacy group with over 2,000,000 supporters calling for fundamental reforms to student loan policies.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JUNE 30, 2022 Contacts: Cody Hounanian, cody@studentdebtcrisis.org Winston Berkman-Breen, winston@protectborrowers.org Sarah Bouabibsa, sarah.bouabibsa@younginvincibles.org Samantha Seng, samantha.seng@nextgenpolicy.org Chuck Bell, chuck.bell@consumer.org Natalia Abrams, natalia@studentdebtcrisis.org Statement from The Campaign for California Borrowers’ Rights in Response to the California State Budget Agreement for 2022-2023 The Campaign for California Borrowers’ Rights is the statewide coalition of students, higher education advocates, and borrower protection organizations. (SACRAMENTO, CA) - THURSDAY, late yesterday the California State Legislature passed an historic $300 billion State Budget for 2022-23. The final budget invests $10 million in a statewide Student Loan Borrower Assistance Program administered by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI). There are nearly four million Californians who are carrying a total of over $145 billion in student loan debt. Federal student loan payments are currently set to resume in September after more than two years and over 60 percent of borrowers report they are not ready for payments to resume. There is also a once-in-a-generation opportunity for public service workers to access Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) who were previously ineligible, through a limited PSLF waiver which expires on October 31, 2022.  The goal of DFPI’s Borrower Assistance Program is to reach qualified borrowers through an outreach campaign and help them enroll in the PSLF program before the deadline.  This investment will also increase Californians’ awareness of DFPI as a student loan borrower resource and build out a network of direct service providers across the state. Aligned with California’s efforts to support student loan borrowers, the Legislature is currently advancing two resolutions that will declare August 2022 as Student Debt Awareness Month. HR 118 (Bonta) and SR 96 (Limón) will continue California’s leadership protecting student loan borrowers and highlight the critical, upcoming deadlines facing those with student loan debt. In response, the California Campaign for Borrowers’ Rights issued the following statement: “We thank Governor Newsom and the State Legislature for supporting student borrowers in this year’s state budget. The $10 million budget appropriation is the largest allocation of funds by any state in support of student borrowers.  This funding will  benefit the state’s more than 4 million student borrowers and allow the state’s leading student borrower protection agency to conduct a statewide outreach, education, and assistance campaign. Given the magnitude of the student debt crisis, recent reforms to the student loan system, and the exiting of student loan servicers from the marketplace, this campaign is of critical importance.” “Each dollar invested in student loan support systems will leverage massive savings for individual borrowers  This timely investment can be immediately implemented as the state moves to recognize August 2022 as Student Debt Awareness month.” ### Consumer Reports Student Debt Crisis Center NextGen California Young Invincibles Student Borrower Protection Center

DATE: 06/16/2022 TO: The Honorable Jose Medina Chair, Assembly Committee on Higher Education 1020 N Street, Room 173 Sacramento, CA 95814 RE: House Resolution 118 (Bonta) California Student Debt Awareness Month - COSPONSOR Dear Chair Medina, I am writing to express our strong support for HR 118 (Bonta). As a proud co-sponsor of HR 118, we request your support in proclaiming August 2022 “California Student Debt Awareness Month.” The Student Debt Crisis Center, and our allies in the Campaign for California Borrowers’ Rights, represent millions of student loan borrowers, student groups, young people, consumers, teachers, non-profits, older borrowers, veterans, low-income communities, and communities of color. We believe that public and private sector employers, especially state and local public service employers, can play an essential and proactive role in educating their employees about student loan repayment options, loan forgiveness programs, and consumer protections. Californians carry over $145 billion in student loan debt today. This debt burden is compounded by an information gap that too often prevents borrowers from knowing about and accessing federal programs that could help. There are a myriad of federal programs that offer affordable repayment options and opportunities to have debts forgiven entirely. However, the system is complex, difficult to navigate, and fails to reach those who need the most support. The state can help close this gap with a simple, and effective, month-long education and awareness campaign that ensures borrowers across the state have the resources they need. Education and awareness efforts are as critical as ever as borrowers recover from the economic shocks of the pandemic and pandemic-related relief is set to end. Roughly four million Californians have student debt and a large majority of those borrowers have had their payments paused for more than two years as part of the federal government’s pandemic relief. but that relief ends on August 31. The Federal Reserve warns that restarting payments will lead to a wave of loan delinquencies and defaults. Federal programs can ensure borrowers don’t fall behind on their loans but only if they have access to timely and actionable information. That is precisely why we support establishing August 2022 as California Student Debt Awareness Month so that we can address the dire need for student loan information and assistance in a very concerted and strategic manner as borrowers prepare for loan payments to resume. Education efforts are even more important for specific groups of borrowers. For example, studies have found that Black borrowers face the biggest challenges enrolling in affordable repayment programs and applying for loan forgiveness programs due to the confusing nature of the process. Awareness campaign is not only a solution to address student loan debt but it also helps address racial and gender inequities as well. Secondly, it is imperative that we support public service workers, who contribute so much to our communities and sacrificed so much during the pandemic, in accessing loan forgiveness. The federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was created to provide public service workers with federal student loan debt relief in return for a decade of public service. But, unnecessary red tape blocked many nurses, teachers, social workers, and other public service workers from the debt relief promised to them by law. A new, temporary waiver announced in 2021 allows borrowers to apply under expanded rules, but the new deadline is October 31, 2022. State agencies, community groups, and businesses must work together to double our efforts to spread awareness of loan forgiveness opportunities among these everyday heroes. The proposed California Student Debt Awareness Month is another step in continuing California’s leadership when it comes to the issue of student debt. This resolution adds to previous efforts by mobilizing businesses, nonprofit organizations, state agencies, and all employers to engage in outreach to their employees about student loan programs during the month of August. We support the California Student Debt Awareness Month resolution because raising awareness will increase the number of Californians accessing federal repayment and loan forgiveness programs. For the above reasons and as co-sponsors in strong support, we request your “aye” vote on HR 118. Sincerely, Cody Hounanian Executive Director

By: Vivek Kakar, SDCC Economic Justice Fellow In 2020, then-presidential nominee Joe Biden promised that, if elected, he would immediately cancel $10,000 in federal student debt for every American as part of his pandemic response. And, he promised to cancel much more on top of that. This was monumental. It was one of the first times a presidential candidate had promised broad-based cancellation. Sixteen months later, everyday Americans are asking why their debt has become a political football. 2020 also saw a spike in youth voter turnout. A poll by the Student Borrower Protection Center found that 71 percent of young people between 18 and 34 support wide-scale student loan cancellation. And, it's not just young voters. A CNN survey recently found that 60 percent of all Americans support some form of student debt redress. So, it’s no surprise that student debt cancellation has become a winning political issue. This shift opened the door for promises to be made that could increase turnout numbers and peak interest in a group that could tip the scales on the ballot. It is arguably one of the reasons that the Democrats secured majorities in the 2020 election and debt relief became part of the package the Dems used to make their case to the public. Here’s the thing: The average borrower doesn’t care about any of this. Since the start of the pandemic, borrowers have been stretched thin to the point where they had to choose between loan payments or food on the table. A survey by the Student Debt Crisis Center highlighted stories from borrowers affected by the debt repayment that hangs in the balance coupled with the rise in inflation we face now. Borrowers need relief, not empty promises and political infighting. Forty million Americans can be freed with the flick of a pen. Talking heads want us to believe that student debt cancellation is a divisive issue only supported by the progressive left. But new polling shows two-thirds of Americans support debt cancellation, including a majority of those who never had debt and never went to college. It’s both a winning issue and the right thing to do. It’s time those elected to defend the best interest of everyday Americans step up to the plate. Or rather, grip their pens.

May 27, 2022 The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr. President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 The Honorable Kamala D. Harris Vice President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Biden and Vice President Harris, We, the 529 undersigned community, civil rights, education, climate, health, consumer, labor, professional, food and farm, and student advocacy organizations write to urge you to strengthen the economy, tackle racial disparities, and provide much-needed relief to help all Americans weather the pandemic and record inflation by using executive authority to cancel federal student debt immediately. Before the COVID-19 public health crisis began, student debt was already a drag on the national economy, with Black and Latinx communities--particularly women-- feeling the greatest burden. That weight has been exponentially magnified given the disproportionate toll that COVID-19 has taken on both the health and economic security of people of color and women. To minimize the harm to the next generation and help narrow the racial and gender wealth gaps, bold and immediate action is needed: President Biden should protect all student loan borrowers, by cancelling existing debts. There is growing energy and strong bipartisan public support for immediate broad-based debt cancellation. Such executive action is one of the few available tools that could immediately provide a boost to upwards of 44 million borrowers and the economy. Lawmakers and advocacy groups have introduced several proposals to provide various levels of student debt cancellation. In February 2021, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Elizabeth Warren, House Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters, and Representatives Ayanna Pressley, Alma Adams, Ilhan Omar, Jamaal Bowman, Mondaire Jones, and Ritchie Torres introduced a bicameral resolution calling on the President to use executive action to cancel $50,000 in federal student loans for individual borrowers. 1 They were joined by 17 other Senators and 65 other Representatives, and received the support of a multi-state group of attorneys general. 2 The resolution highlights that the Higher Education Act clearly provides the Secretary of Education with the authority to cancel federal student debt administratively. During the campaign, you endorsed “a minimum of $10,000” in relief while Congress negotiated the CARES Act, and subsequently promised to provide broad student debt cancellation “immediately” as a coronavirus response. Administrative debt cancellation will deliver real progress on your racial equity, economic recovery, and COVID-19 relief campaign priorities. Student debt exacerbates existing racial inequities; cancellation will help reduce the racial wealth gap. The disproportionate impact of student debt on borrowers of color exacerbates existing systemic inequities and widens the racial wealth gap. Black Americans—and particularly Black women—are more likely to take on student loan debt and struggle with repayment. This burden is particularly acute for those Black students who are targeted by for-profit institutions, which also target veterans and often deliver poor instructional quality and outcomes at a high cost, causing a high proportion of students to drop out. Even for those students who do graduate, gainful employment in the field that they trained for is frequently elusive, leaving students with a lot of debt but not much to show for it. Black borrowers report that their student loan debt often feels like a life sentence even if they use relief programs like Income-Driven Repayment because they watch the amount owed balloon over time. Student debt cancellation has the potential to increase the net wealth of Black households and could even help reduce the racial wealth gap. Cancellation will boost household wealth, increase small business formation, and provide much-needed economic relief during this historic period of inflation. Today’s graduates face a dual crisis: in addition to the ongoing stagnation of wages, the pandemic has impacted their ability to earn income. Students who graduate into a recession face a “scarring” effect on their entire careers, leading to permanently lower employment and earnings. Data from before the pandemic showed that when subtracting all of their debts from all of their assets, today’s young adults with college degrees and student debt were left with a median net wealth of -$1,900 – a decline of approximately $9,000 from 2013. Student debt also impacts seniors, the nation’s fastest-growing group of student debtors. 37% of seniors with student loans are in default, and in 2015 alone, 40,000 borrowers over 65 had their Social Security garnished due to student loans. The mere presence of student debt on households’ balance sheets can make it harder or more expensive for families to get other types of credit and fully participate in the economy. Meanwhile, research shows that student debt cancellation catalyzes drastic, positive changes for borrowers, particularly for those not current on their loans. When borrowers’ student debt is canceled, their ability to pay down other debts increases; their geographic mobility and ability to stay in rural communities improves, as do their opportunities to pursue better jobs. Cancelling student debt would jumpstart small business formation at a time when tens of thousands of small businesses have closed. These small business closures have disproportionately affected Black and Latinx business owners. Student debt cancellation would boost GDP, create jobs, and reduce unemployment. Federal student debt cancellation could have a positive impact on health outcomes. A growing body of research suggests that debt is linked to negative health outcomes and contributes to existing public health disparities. Debt is associated with negative mental and physical health outcomes such as stress, depression, worse self-reported general health, higher diastolic blood pressure, obesity, and even mortality. High blood pressure and obesity, in particular, are both mentioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as conditions that can increase the risk of severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19. Another study found a connection between debt and foregone medical care. Thus, broad-based student debt cancellation could have profound positive effects on health outcomes. Cancelling student debt would disproportionately help borrowers of color, respond to the coronavirus crisis, and provide much needed economic relief. We call on you to deliver on the promise of the Biden-Harris Racial Economic Equity plan by cancelling federal student debt by executive action immediately. Thank you for your leadership, and we look forward to working with you to address the critical issues facing our nation. Sincerely, National groups: 1000 Women Strong 350.org ACLU Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE) Advocates for Youth Affordable Homeownership Foundation, Inc. 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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 13, 2022 Statement from The Campaign for California Borrowers’ Rights in Response to Governor Newsom’s May California Budget Revise The Campaign for California Borrowers’ Rights is the statewide coalition of students, higher education advocates, and borrower protection organizations. (SACRAMENTO, CA) - Today, Governor Newsom released his May California budget revision. The Governor’s budget revision continues to invest $10 million in statewide student borrower assistance programs through the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI). There are nearly four million Californians with a total of over $140 billion in student loan debt. Federal student loan payments are currently set to resume in September after more than two years and over 60 percent of borrowers report they are not ready for payments to resume.1 There is also a once-in-a-generation opportunity for public service workers to access Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) who were previously ineligible, through a limited PSLF waiver with a deadline of October 31, 2022 that borrowers must apply for. Increased funding for DFPI will reach qualified borrowers through outreach and enrollment assistance for the upcoming October deadline. This upfront investment will also increase Californians’ awareness of DFPI as a resource and will build out a network for direct service providers across the state that will meet borrowers’ needs for years to come. In response, the California Campaign for Borrowers’ Rights issued the following statement: “We thank Governor Newsom for supporting student borrowers. However, in a year following a global pandemic and uncertainty, especially for the state’s 4.4 million student borrowers, tripling the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation’s (DFPI) proposed $10 million allocation to $30 million will allow the state’s leading student borrower protection agency to properly conduct statewide outreach, education, and assistance efforts, given the magnitude of the student debt crisis, recent reforms to the student loan system, and the exiting of student loan servicers from the marketplace.”  “Each dollar invested in student loan support systems will leverage massive savings for individual borrowers, in terms of loan forgiveness and affordable payments, that will improve individuals’ lives and will recirculate into the local economy. It is time for California to lead the nation in crucial outreach and education to those with student loan debt and allow the state’s millions of student borrowers to reach a debt-free life. We call on Governor Newsom and the California Legislature to allocate $30 million to DFPI to conduct student loan borrower outreach and education.” ### Consumer Reports Student Debt Crisis Center NextGen California Young Invincibles Student Borrower Protection Center

May 2, 2022 Gail daMota President Education Finance Council 200 Massachusetts Ave NW, Suite 700 Washington, DC 20001 James Bergeron President National Council of Higher Education Resources 1050 Connecticut Ave NW, #65793 Washington, DC 20035 Scott Buchanan Executive Director Student Loan Servicing Alliance 2210 Mount Vernon Ave, Suite 207 Alexandria, VA 22301 Dear Ms. daMota, Mr. Bergeron, and Mr. Buchanan: We write today regarding the commitment our organizations share with yours to the successful implementation of recent changes to income-driven repayment (IDR) and to compliance with all relevant state and federal laws and regulations that govern federal student loan servicing. As you know, on April 19, 2022, the Department of Education (ED) announced a sweeping set of actions aimed at remedying “historical failures in the administration of federal student loan programs,” including IDR.1 IDR was designed in part to provide an offramp for borrowers after decades of repayment to prevent student loan debt from becoming a life-long burden. 2 However, the promise of eventual debt relief through this protection has so far proven illusory.3 Investigations by independent third parties4 and government auditors5 alike have found that vanishingly few borrowers have accessed debt cancellation to date under IDR even as millions of borrowers have crossed the mark of being in repayment for 20 years or more.6 Against this backdrop, the actions ED announced on April 19 mark an important first step toward relief for many of the most financially distressed borrowers in the federal student loan system. In particular, the Department estimates that these changes will allow tens of thousands of borrowers to receive immediate forgiveness through IDR and that millions more will receive “at least three years of additional credit toward IDR forgiveness.”7 Still, successfully restoring the promise of long-term relief through IDR will require that federal student loan borrowers be able to rely on the companies that your organizations represent to receive the high-quality servicing that they deserve—and that they are entitled to under the law. Unfortunately, as the Department outlined when announcing its recent changes to IDR, there is a well-documented and decades-long record of servicers failing to implement key provisions of, and protections embedded in, the federal student loan program.8 Servicers’ failures include the illegal and endemic “steering” of borrowers toward costly, endless forbearances in instances when they may have benefited from IDR. 9 In certain instances, these high- profile abuses broke a wide range of federal and state consumer protection laws.10 Further, as the results of a recent NPR investigation revealed, these breakdowns also include the widespread failure by student loan servicers to track and manage the repayment histories that borrowers rely on to prove qualification for IDR forgiveness.11 As NPR put it, these systemic errors “could delay or derail millions of the lowest-income borrowers on their way to loan cancellation.”12 Notably, ED’s actions on IDR come soon after its recent, equally sweeping waiver of provisions of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which was plagued for years by similar mismanagement on the part of student loan servicers that blocked teachers, nurses, and servicemembers from accessing earned loan relief. 13 As enforcement actions dating as recently as March of this year illustrate, misconduct in this space has included companies that own loans originated under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) deceiving borrowers into believing that they were not eligible for PSLF when, in fact, they were.14 Advocates15 and government agencies16 alike have noted that this conduct is likely motivated by FFELP loan holders’ financial interests, as borrowers pursuing PSLF must consolidate out of any FFELP loans that they may owe on and into Direct loans, undercutting the FFELP loan holder’s bottom line. Months after the PSLF waiver was announced, a coalition of consumer advocates and the nation’s biggest unions outlined in a letter to the 25 largest private holders of FFELP loans that these companies appeared to still be misrepresenting the qualifications for forgiveness under PSLF.17 Protracted breakdowns along these lines simply cannot be tolerated in the implementation of ED’s recent changes to IDR, particularly to the extent that they may involve errors that, like those related to PSLF, could reflect the companies you represent putting profits ahead of borrowers’ interests and legal rights. Immediately after ED’s April 19 announcement, your organizations released a statement alleging that by noting the historic servicer failures that have contributed to the breakdown of IDR, the Department was trying to “steer the conversation away from the root cause that has failed to fix the federal student loan repayment system for years.”18 Few organizations have been more critical than ours regarding ED’s history of failure in student loan borrower protection.19 But it was not the Department of Education that adopted a “7 minute rule” after which servicers’ call center representatives were required to hang up on student loan borrowers, 20 that was reprimanded as recently as March for lying to borrowers about their right to forgiveness through PSLF,21 or that has generated a decade of state, federal, and private litigation and investigations exposing abusive, unfair, or otherwise harmful servicing practices.22 Rather than focusing on how to avoid accountability and deflect blame, we encourage you to focus on finally delivering borrowers the rights they have long been denied and that ED’s actions may now allow them to access. Our organizations intend to use every tool at our disposal—including, but certainly not limited to, open records requests, 23 investigative reports,24 and the possibility of litigation25—to ensure that borrowers’ rights are protected and to hold you and the companies you represent accountable for the faithful implementation of ED’s changs to IDR. Millions of student loan borrowers are depending on you and the companies you represent to get the IDR fix right. We will remain extremely vigilant over the next several months to ensure that you do. Sincerely, Student Borrower Protection Center Center for Responsible Lending National Consumer Law Center Student Debt Crisis Center CC: Hon. Miguel Cardona, Secretary, Department of Education Hon. Richard Cordray, Chief Operating Officer, Office of Federal Student Aid, Department of Education Hon. Rohit Chopra, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 04/20/2022 CONTACT: Natalia Abrams natalia@studentdebtcrisis.org Cody Hounanian cody@studentdebtcrisis.org Statement: Income-driven repayment fixes will help many borrowers, but student debt cancellation is needed The Biden administration just announced a plan to repair harm caused by dysfunctional federal student loan repayment programs. Americans depend on income-driven repayment programs to make their monthly payments affordable and those with persistently low-income trust that the government will erase their debt after two decades in repayment. However, systemic failures mean far too many fail to receive the relief promised to them by law. This plan will ensure that millions of people will be closer to having their loans erased and all borrowers who have been paying back federal loans for over two decades will be eligible for immediate debt cancellation. The Student Debt Crisis Center (SDCC) supports the administration's efforts. We believe in fixing the existing system while we work towards broad student debt cancellation and this announcement is a step in the right direction. At the same time, these well-intentioned fixes highlight just how broken the system has become. That is why we join millions of everyday Americans, allies, and lawmakers in calling on President Biden to embrace bolder reforms he campaigned by canceling student debt. “We are optimistic that this set of reforms will help many borrowers and families who felt that student debt had become a lifelong burden. However, in our role as advocates for student loan borrowers we are intimately aware just how insidious this crisis is. Millions of people are drowning in debt and a piecemeal policy approach won’t reach them all. To guarantee that everyone impacted by the student debt crisis is given an opportunity to thrive and access the American Dream, we must broadly cancel student debt now,” said SDCC president and founder Natalia Abrams.“These revisions are a testament to the advocacy efforts of everyday people who shared their experiences and obstacles with the Department of Education, the White House, and lawmakers. These everyday champions are also committed to transformative change and are taking action, by the millions, in support of debt cancellation. We echo their frustration, determination, and hope.” said SDCC executive director Cody Hounanian. The plan follows last week’s State of Student Debt Summit which brought thousands of people together to discuss student loan issues, research, and advocacy. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer provided a keynote address where he said the Biden administration was closer to canceling student debt “than ever before.” Earlier this year, SDCC joined over 100 organizations in ending a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. In that letter, we urged the Department to “deliver on the promise of income-driven repayment (IDR) programs” by creating an IDR waiver similar to the one announced. ### About Student Debt Crisis Center 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.

April 18, 2022 Honorable Nancy Skinner Chair, Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review 1020 N Street, Room 502 Sacramento, CA 95814 Honorable Phil Ting Chair, Assembly Committee on Budget 1021 O Street, Room 8230 Sacramento, CA 95814 Honorable Sydney Kamlager Chair, Senate Budget Subcommittee #4 on State Administration and General Government 1020 N Street, Room 502 Sacramento, CA 95814 Honorable Kevin McCarty Chair, Assembly Budget Subcommittee #2 on Education Finance 1021 O Street, 4250 Sacramento, CA 95814 RE: Support for Department of Financial Protection and Innovation Student Loan Borrower Assistance Dear Budget Leaders, The Campaign for California Borrowers’ Rights and the undersigned organizations, representing borrowers, students, young people, consumers, teachers, non-profits, older borrowers, low-income communities and communities of color, requests your support of the current $10 million in the Governor’s proposed budget to the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) to conduct outreach and education efforts to student borrowers throughout the state. Given the magnitude of the student debt crisis, recent reforms to the student loan system, and the exiting of student loan servicers from the marketplace, we are also requesting an additional $20 million be allocated to DFPI for student borrower outreach for a total of $30 million. The federal student loan system is complex and has a record of failing borrowers. Now is the time to invest in support systems for student loan borrowers. There are nearly four million Californians with a total of over $140 billion in student loan debt. Federal student loan payments are currently set to resume in September after more than two years and over 60 percent of borrowers report they are not ready for payments to resume.1 Over one third of California borrowers will have their loan servicer changed before the end of the year, which creates confusing situations and risks of servicing errors. In addition, a recent NPR investigation revealed that student loan servicers are failing to properly administer the federal government’s income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, which is supposed to be the safety net program for low-income federal student loan borrowers. This investigation builds on a report last year from the National Consumer Law Center and the Student Borrower Protection Center that of 4.4 million people who have been repaying their federal loans for over 20 years, and so should have their loans discharged as part of the IDR program, only 32 have received this loan forgiveness. There is also a once-in-a-generation opportunity for public service workers to access Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) who were previously ineligible, through a limited PSLF waiver with a deadline of October 31, 2022 that borrowers must apply for. A raft of problems pervaded both the IDR and PSLF program including a lack of outreach to eligible borrowers, processing errors, and failure to provide correct information about program guidelines – actions often perpetrated by the entities and student loan servicers responsible for administering the program. As a result, millions of public service workers have been cheated out of their right to loan forgiveness guaranteed under the PSLF program and, in the last couple of years, national news headlines reported 99% of all PSLF applicants had been rejected. We can’t let the years public service workers served, many essential personnel during the pandemic, be left out again. Navigating both the broken IDR program and the limited PSLF waiver process will require intensive outreach and education for borrowers, many of whom may need additional and individualized assistance. Now is the time for California to invest in helping its student loan borrowers. DFPI is emerging as the leading state agency in the nation in terms of supporting student loan borrowers - now is the time to give them the resources they need to execute their plans. DFPI has articulated a clear program for these funds, that coordinates centralizing resources and dispersing support throughout communities. California has the opportunity to lead the nation in state-led student borrower support programs. Over a dozen states have student loan ombudspersons, but none has the state-supported network of local legal aid attorneys and counselors who can work to resolve individual borrower cases across the state. The DFPI ombudsperson’s role is not intended to provide individualized counseling to every single borrower in the state; that is both unrealistic and impossible. As a part of a state agency, the DFPI ombudsman cannot act as the representative or Student Borrower Protection Center and Data for Progress. Tracking Poll: The Impact of Student Debt on American Families. 2022. https://protectborrowers.org/new-poll-as-inflation-soars-large-bipartisan-majority-supports-president-bidens-pause-on-student-loan-payments/ attorney of individual borrowers. While the ombudsman and the DFPI can perform outreach, education, bring enforcement actions, and push for state and federal policies to help borrowers, they cannot act as individual borrower advocates against the federal government or other entities in an individual disagreement. The DFPI and the ombudsman can only attempt to mediate those disagreements and seek an outcome agreeable to the borrower. The ombudsman’s role is to develop and implement policies and programs to help borrowers and to represent them in state and national policy conversations. The network of community-based service providers that DFPI has proposed to fund with this budget allocation would be a first-in-the nation program for student loan borrowers, but is modeled on successful programs for mortgage borrowers/homeowners.2 There are millions of California borrowers, with hundreds of thousands who have experienced long-term delinquency and default. In short, there is a lot of work to be done to support these Californians that requires a greater investment. Now is not the time to skimp or cut corners, with real deadlines and program changes on the horizon for borrowers, who will need help. Instead, increasing funding to provide for local legal aid organizations to work in partnership with community-based organizations will ensure that many of these borrowers can access help for their individual and often complicated cases. Student loan cases are extremely complex and tricky to assess. For this reason, the DFPI program must provide sufficient funding for both the training of non-legal counselors and ongoing partnerships between them and legal aid organizations. While some borrowers will only need simple assistance obtaining an income-driven repayment plan, for example, others will have more complicated cases that require legal assistance, including for borrowers harmed by for-profit colleges, borrowers facing debt collection lawsuits, borrowers who are eligible for, but unable to obtain, income-driven repayment or PSLF forgiveness, and many others. These types of cases can require many hours of legal work and can take years to resolve. As an example, the Department of Education only began resolving over 300,000 borrower defense claims, many of which had been pending for over 5 years, after fighting class action litigation and advocacy from many legal aid organizations. Over 100,000 of these remain pending, while harmed borrowers continue to file more of these claims each week. This is an essential part of DFPI’s coordinated plan and is where the state will see its spending leveraged. The budget proposal is a one-time appropriation for 2022-23, however this work has both short- and long-term timelines that $10 million will not be able to support. Providing sufficient foundational funding now will ensure the program’s long-term success, which means better outcomes for California borrowers. Each dollar invested in student loan support systems will leverage massive savings for individual borrowers, in terms of loan forgiveness and affordable payments, that will improve individuals’ lives and will recirculate into the local economy. For all of the above reasons, the proposed $10 million Please see New York’s Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP) that provides a call center for consumers. https://ag.ny.gov/protect-our-homes appropriation to DFPI for outreach and education to student borrowers throughout the state should be tripled to $30 million. We respectfully request your support of a total of $30 million to DFPI for student borrower assistance. Sincerely, Michael Young Legislative Representative CFT Chuck Bell Programs Director, Advocacy Consumer Reports Arnold Sowell Jr. Executive Director NextGen California Leigh Ferrin Director of Legal Services Public Law Center Natalia Abrams President & Founder Student Debt Crisis Center Christopher Sanchez Policy Advocate Western Center on Law and Poverty Jan Masaoka CEO California Association of Nonprofits Andrew Avila Policy and Advocacy Manager Improve Your Tomorrow Stephanie Carroll Directing Attorney Consumer Rights & Economic Justice Project Public Counsel Mike Pierce Executive Director Student Borrower Protection Center Esmeralda López California State Director UnidosUS Mahmoud Zahriya West Regional Director Young Invincibles

It's almost here! The State of Student Debt Summit spring meeting is happening in less than a week, and you can RSVP to join on Zoom or by phone right here. On Wednesday, borrowers, parents, activists, and experts will join lawmakers including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Elizabeth Warren to discuss solutions to the student debt crisis. Expert panels will include The Path to Debt Cancellation, Women with Student Debt, and The Movement to Cancel Student Debt. Plus, we will discuss how to be an effective advocate and how we can build momentum to cancel meaningful student debt. RSVP FOR THE SUMMIT HERE >> If you have student debt, or one of your loved ones does, this is the event to be at this spring. We will cover the essential need-to-knows, plus give you time to ask us your questions. And you can do it all from anywhere – home, a coffee shop, the break room at work, the back of your physics lecture, anywhere! If you can’t make the whole day, just pop in when you can. Click here to RSVP and we will send you all of the details needed to join the event on Zoom or by phone. Here's a schedule for Wednesday's summit: 12:30 ET: Remarks by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer 1:00 ET: The Path to Debt Cancellation: Combining Research and Advocacy featuring former U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King 2:00 ET: Women with Student Debt: A Trillion-Dollar Crisis 3:00 ET: What Does it Mean to #CancelStudentDebt? 4:00 ET: Remarks by Senator Elizabeth Warren / Audience Q&A

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 04/06/2022 CONTACT: Natalia Abrams natalia@studentdebtcrisis.org Cody Hounanian cody@studentdebtcrisis.org STATEMENT: Biden admin extends student loan payment pause as calls for debt cancellation grow Hundreds of thousands of SDCC supporters took action calling on the President to extend the payment pause, but this plan would not provide the lasting relief families need. SDCC calls on President Joe Biden to take the necessary step of broad-based student debt cancellation by executive action. Today, the Biden Administration announced they are extending the pause on payments and interest for federally-held student loans until the end of August. The plan would follow a months-long campaign by thousands of SDCC supporters calling for an extension until permanent debt cancellation is secured. Unfortunately, this extension falls short of the relief Senate and House education chairs, SDCC, and ally organizations called on the President to enact. Ultimately, temporary relief isn’t enough to overcome the harm caused by the pandemic and growing inflation, and it certainly doesn’t address the historic student debt crisis. That is we call on President Biden to permanently cancel student debt as a long-term solution to this problem. We are joined by over 2 million supporters who have taken action in support of debt cancellation since the pandemic began -- including a march in Washington D.C. and petition delivery at the White House on Monday. "We recognize that extending the payment pause is important to borrowers struggling to shoulder the harm caused by the pandemic, economic shocks, and inflation. However, President Biden's piecemeal, short term approach is not enough to meet these challenging times," said Natalia Abrams, President & Founder. "The President has an opportunity to pass bold, meaningful relief instead of band-aid measures. We urge the President to consider the transformative effect permanent student debt cancellation would have for individuals, their families, and the economy.”   “Another payment pause extension is a testament to the hard work of millions of Americans who are leading an unprecedented movement to address the student debt crisis. They have pushed the President to better understand their struggles and this is a sign that he is listening. But, there is much more work to be done to secure additional relief and cancel student debt -- we will continue to echo the voices of our supporters until we get it done,” said Cody Hounanian, Executive Director. Today's announcement also includes a "fresh start" initiative that puts thousands of borrowers in delinquency and loan default back into good standing. This is good news for families who were in financial distress before the pandemic began or have struggled to manage the blows caused by the changing economy. Experts, including the Federal Reserve, warned of a wave of new student loan defaults that would set families back even further. Fresh start is a step in the right direction, but permanent debt cancellation is the only enduring relief that gives families the financial freedom needed to thrive long into the future. SDCC recently joined over 200 groups in a letter urging President Biden to extend the pause and cancel student debt. This letter was followed by letters from Senate education committee chair Senator Patty Murray and House education committee chair Rep. Bobby Scott calling for an extension of payment relief due to rising inflation and the lack of progress in fixing the broken student loan system. ##