MoveOn Executive Director Rahna Epting on Federal Student Loan Cancellation
Washington, D.C. – In response to President Biden’s student debt relief plan, MoveOn Executive Director Rahna Epting issued the following statement:
“President Biden’s executive order, canceling $ 10,000 in federal student debt for most borrowers, canceling $ 20,000 in loans for Pell Grant recipients, reforming income-based repayment plans to benefit borrowers, and extending the payment pause until the end of the year, marks the biggest and boldest action a president has ever taken to provide student debt relief to struggling families.
“The executive order will give millions of people relief from having to choose between loan payments and basic necessities like housing, food, and medicine.
“This is an issue that is important and deeply personal to millions of MoveOn members who, over the past several years, have signed dozens of petitions about it, made countless calls to members of Congress and the White House, organized actions in D.C., and voted for Biden in record numbers. Seventy-six percent of MoveOn members who are new voters told us they are more likely to vote for Democrats if $ 50,000 in debt is canceled per borrower.
“We thank the Biden administration for taking this historic first step, and we will continue to advocate not only for additional relief but for a fundamental restructuring of our education financing system to ensure that this staggering societal challenge is permanently resolved. Future relief efforts must go further to address the skyrocketing student debt crisis that challenges educational and economic well-being, equity, and mobility for an overwhelming number of working people and their families. Additional loan relief without bureaucratic means testing would be a lifeline to people who have been hit hard by the pandemic and inflation—including seniors on a limited income and, especially, Black and brown Americans, who are disproportionately burdened by student loan debt.”
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MoveOn is a people-powered force for progress. MoveOn mobilizes the left to elect Democrats and enact progressive change. We are the homebase for millions of members who refuse to accept the status quo and are moved to take action. For more than a generation, MoveOn has been a bulwark against the radical right, channeling our voices to end wars, protect democracy, and advance justice for all.
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