Calling on the President of the United States to take executive action to broadly cancel Federal student loan debt.

IV 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 100 Calling on the President of the United States to take executive action to broadly cancel Federal student loan debt. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 4, 2021 Ms. PRESSLEY (for herself, Ms. OMAR, Ms. WATERS, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. BOW- MAN, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. JONES, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. BLU- MENAUER, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CARSON, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. COHEN, Ms. DEAN, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. MENG, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLI- TANO, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. POCAN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SIRES, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. NEWMAN, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. BASS, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. EVANS, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Ms. PORTER, and Ms. SEWELL) sub- mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned RESOLUTION Calling on the President of the United States to take executive action to broadly cancel Federal student loan debt. Whereas the United States is facing historic public health and economic crises caused by the coronavirus (COVID– VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Feb 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR100.IH HR100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 100 IH 19) pandemic that threatens the financial well-being of nearly every American family; Whereas even before the COVID–19 pandemic, the United States also faced a historic student loan crisis, which is currently holding back our struggling economy and re- stricting opportunity and prosperity for millions of Amer- ican families; Whereas nearly 43,000,000 Americans currently hold more than $1,500,000,000,000 in Federal student loan debt; Whereas more than 9,000,000 Federal student loan bor- rowers are currently in default on those Federal student loans; Whereas the COVID–19 economic recession and historic un- employment have compounded stagnant wages, labor market discrimination, and rising costs of living, making it nearly impossible for many Americans to ever fully repay their student loans; Whereas this historic student debt crisis has left millions of Americans less prepared to weather the recession trig- gered by the COVID–19 pandemic as Black and brown communities, which never fully recovered from the dev- astating effects of the previous economic recession, have been hit hardest by the devastating health and economic consequences of the COVID–19 pandemic; Whereas student debt disproportionately impacts Black and brown borrowers, who face the worst effects of the stu- dent debt crisis, with— (1) Black households disproportionately holding the most debt, compared to other households; (2) Black students, due to ongoing structural bar- riers that have resulted in persistent racial inequities in VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Feb 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR100.IH HR100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 100 IH incomes and wealth, forced to accrue more student debt and more often than their White peers; (3) Black student borrowers struggling more in stu- dent loan repayment, including defaulting at higher rates than their White peers; (4) nearly half of Black graduates owing more on their undergraduate student loans 4 years after gradua- tion than they did when they received their degrees; (5) the median Black student borrower owing 95 percent of his or her debt 20 years after starting college, while the median White student borrower would owe 6 percent of his or her debt after such period; (6) Latino student borrowers, who borrow at rates similar to their White peers despite having lower house- hold incomes and significantly less household wealth, being more likely than their White peers to default on their student loans; (7) within 6 years of starting school, Latino bor- rowers being almost twice as likely to default on their student loans, in comparison to their White peers; and (8) women of color, particularly Black women, on average taking on more student loan debt than members of any other group and being more likely to face difficul- ties repaying student loans; Whereas parents, grandparents, and older individuals are es- pecially vulnerable to the burden of student loan debt, as people over the age of 50 are most likely to default on their student loans, and over 114,000 retired people have had their Social Security benefits garnished due to their student loans; Whereas almost one-third of the outstanding Federal student loan debt is held by individuals who did not complete VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Feb 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR100.IH HR100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 100 IH their degree or program, and nearly 40 percent of Fed- eral student loan borrowers have no degree 6 years after enrolling in college; Whereas Black students and other students who have at- tended historically Black colleges and universities have had to bear a larger share of student loan debt because of the historic and continued underfunding of these insti- tutions at the State and Federal levels; Whereas student loan debt cancellation for the families that need it most can substantially increase Black and Latino household wealth and help close racial wealth gaps; Whereas women hold more than two-thirds of the Nation’s student loan debt and must borrow an average of $3,000 more than men to obtain higher education; Whereas if left unaddressed, the student debt crisis will wors- en inequality, exacerbate the current recession, widen the racial wealth gap, and slow economic recovery; Whereas broad student loan debt cancellation is the most effi- cient and effective solution to our student debt crisis, would help millions of families, and would remove a sig- nificant drag holding back our economy; Whereas broad student loan debt cancellation would provide immediate relief to millions of American families who are struggling during this pandemic and recession, and pre- vent them from having an unsustainable student debt burden waiting for them once this pandemic is over; Whereas broad student loan debt cancellation would provide a boost to our struggling economy through a consumer- driven economic stimulus, greater home-buying rates and housing stability, expanded access to more affordable fi- nancial products including car loans and mortgages, VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Feb 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR100.IH HR100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 100 IH higher college completion rates, and greater small busi- ness formation; Whereas more than 230 community, civil rights, consumer, and student advocacy organizations have urged student loan debt cancellation for all borrowers in response to the COVID–19 pandemic public health and economic crises; Whereas canceling up to $50,000 in Federal student loan debt per borrower is the most equitable way to ensure the benefits of cancellation reach the borrowers most in need of relief because that action would lift a disproportionate number of low-income borrowers and Black and Latino borrowers completely out of student debt, including near- ly 90 percent of all borrowers in the lowest income quin- tile and over 90 percent of Black and Latino borrowers in the lowest income quartile; Whereas borrowers who would receive full student loan debt cancellation if the Federal Government canceled $50,000 per borrower in student loan debt have lower income and assets than the borrowers who would receive partial can- cellation if the Federal Government took that action; Whereas Congress has already granted the Secretary of Edu- cation the legal authority to broadly cancel student debt under section 432(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1082(a)), which grants the Secretary the authority to modify, ‘‘. . . compromise, waive, or re- lease any right, title, claim, lien, or demand, however ac- quired, including any equity or any right of redemption’’; Whereas, in 2020, the Department of Education reportedly used this authority to implement relief for Federal stu- dent loan borrowers during the COVID–19 pandemic; and VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Feb 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR100.IH HR100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HRES 100 IH Whereas, on June 29, 2020, President Donald J. Trump, with the support of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, vetoed H.J. Res. 76 ‘‘Providing for congressional dis- approval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Education re- lating to ‘Borrower Defense Institutional Account- ability’ ’’, blocking a resolution that passed Congress with bipartisan support to overturn a Department of Edu- cation rule that makes it harder for defrauded Federal student loan borrowers to see their loans discharged: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) recognizes the Secretary of Education’s 2 broad administrative authority to cancel Federal stu- 3 dent loan debt under the existing authorities of sec- 4 tion 432(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 5 (20 U.S.C. 1082(a)); 6 (2) calls on the President of the United States 7 to take executive action to broadly cancel up to 8 $50,000 in Federal student loan debt for Federal 9 student loan borrowers administratively using exist- 10 ing legal authorities under such section 432(a), and 11 any other authorities available under the law; 12 (3) encourages the President of the United 13 States, in taking such executive action, to use the 14 executive’s authority under the Internal Revenue 15 Code of 1986 to ensure no tax liability for Federal 16 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Feb 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR100.IH HR100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HRES 100 IH student loan borrowers resulting from administrative 1 debt cancellation; 2 (4) encourages the President of the United 3 States, in taking such executive action, to ensure 4 that administrative debt cancellation helps close ra- 5 cial wealth gaps and avoids the bulk of Federal stu- 6 dent loan debt cancellation benefits accruing to the 7 wealthiest borrowers; and 8 (5) encourages the President of the United 9 States to continue to pause student loan payments 10 and interest accumulation for Federal student loan 11 borrowers for the entire duration of the COVID–19 12 pandemic. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Feb 05, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR100.IH HR100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS