Cancel Student Loan Debt

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Bowman for yielding.

I am here today with the urgent request that the Biden administration cancel the student debt obligations that burden 44.7 million Americans. I am one of these 44.7 million Americans who is still paying off student loans well after our college days.

I rise today to elevate the voices of the numerous constituents who continuously call me, Facebook me, and DM me to tell me their stories, including Natalie from Morningside and Jacob from Atlanta, both of whom told me that they are desperate for relief and that they only see heartache in their futures, all thanks to their student loan debt.

But we know that it doesn't have to be this way. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a financial lifeline was extended to the American people with emergency student loan relief. But that lifeline is going to end in just 2 short months.

Now that we have seen that being free of the burden of student loan debt is possible, we must deliver for the American people and cancel student debt permanently.

Student debt is disproportionately held by Black borrowers and continues to worsen the racial wealth gap. Nowhere is it more obvious to have this vicious cycle of student loan debt exacerbate the racial wealth gap than with our historically Black colleges and universities. Not only am I a proud third-generation HBCU alum of Talladega College, but Georgia's Fifth Congressional District has more HBCUs than any other congressional district in this country.

HBCUs have been intentionally underfunded throughout their history. While the Build Back Better Act will partially rectify that injustice, HBCUs are still struggling to meet the needs of the more than 290,000 students enrolled in more than 100 HBCUs across America today. HBCUs' endowments are smaller compared to those of predominantly White institutions, and, in turn, that limits the aid that HBCUs can provide to our students, leading to larger student loans and smaller alumni donations, burdening grads with tens of thousands of dollars in debt and perpetuating the cycle for generations to come.

Student loan debt also prevents people from starting a family and building a better life. An Education Trust study found that of graduate degree holders who earn between $75,000 and $100,000 with $94,000 in student loan debt, 55 percent of debtors delayed investments in retirement; 67 percent postponed buying a home; and 36 percent postponed having a child.

We live in the richest country in the world. We ought to be ashamed of these statistics. We shouldn't accept that people must choose between paying off student loans or having the family that they have always dreamed of. For generations, American students have heard that a college education is the key to unlocking the American Dream. Instead of unlocking the American Dream, we have only created a uniquely American nightmare.

We made a promise to the American people. We can deliver on that promise by canceling student loan debt so that everyone can thrive and not merely survive.

I thank Representative Bowman for hosting this Special Order hour, and I look forward to making sure that we deliver on the promise of America for everyone.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source