Warren for Senate: [link removed]

I believe that the Biden
administration should use all its tools to provide relief to as many
Americans as possible.

That’s why I joined my colleagues this week in urging the Secretary of
Education to leverage his existing and full authority under the Higher
Education Act to strengthen the department’s proposed rule for borrowers
to receive relief.

Let’s back up for a second and review where we’re at with student debt
cancellation.

Since the far-right Supreme Court struck down President Biden’s initial
student debt relief plan by claiming that he didn’t have the legal
authority to cancel student debt (he does), President Biden swiftly
implemented two other measures to expedite debt relief for a wide range of
borrowers.

One of those steps is launching a process of negotiated rulemaking to
pursue debt forgiveness under the Higher Education Act. But
after taking a look at the
draft of the rules emerging from this negotiated rulemaking process, I
believe that we could do a lot more.

[ [link removed] ]I’ve proposed the actions below to strengthen the proposed student debt
relief rule. If you agree that the Administration should follow these
steps and provide student debt relief for as many borrowers as possible,
please add your name here — and let’s build strong momentum for these
demands.

[ [link removed] ]ADD YOUR NAME

While I commend the Biden Administration for making strides in this fight,
I believe that their proposal could be strengthened through the following
steps:

* Eliminate all debt that exceeds the original principal balance of the
loan due to runaway interest. Under the current rule, the “Secretary
may waive all or a portion of the amount by which a borrower’s total
outstanding balance exceeds the original principal balance of the
loan.”
* Provide full cancellation, not just a waiver of interest, for those
who have repaid enough to cover their original principal. The draft
rule doesn’t extend relief to borrowers who repaid enough to cover
their original principal.
* Eliminate the sudden cliff that would give full relief to borrowers
whose loans first entered repayment at least 25 years ago, but no
relief to other similar borrowers. The proposed rule would extend
relief only to borrowers who entered repayment 25 years ago or more by
July 1, 2025. However, a borrower who hits the 25-year mark on July 2,
2025 would be ineligible for relief. I believe the Education
Department should remove the cutoff date for borrowers who have been
in repayment for decades, and instead permit them to become eligible
for relief on a rolling basis.
* Extend relief to additional categories of borrowers with financial
hardship and create a general category for unforeseen forms of
hardship. I’m urging the Education Department to expand the
income-based indicators of financial hardship, and use some other
non-income-based indicators.
* Extend relief to borrowers who have been victims of student loan
servicer misconduct or error. The current draft text does not include
protections for borrowers who have faced predatory loan servicer
practices, such as forbearance steering, overcharging, or failing to
enroll borrowers who asked to be placed in IDR plans for which they
were eligible.
* Eliminate the need for borrowers to submit burdensome applications by
basing eligibility for relief on information that the Education
Department already has or that it can acquire from other agencies. The
rule should extend relief to borrowers automatically, without
requiring them to submit applications. The Education Department can
largely base relief on information already in its possession through
payment history databases, Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA) applications, and on information from other federal agencies.

I’m passionate about this.
I got my degree from a state school that cost $50 a semester. That
opportunity just isn’t available today — and tens of millions of Americans
are getting crushed by student debt.

[ [link removed] ]If there are opportunities to relieve this burden for them, we need to
take them. If you agree, please add your name here to signal your support
for these amendments, and let’s fight side by side to make this plan as
strong as possible.

Thanks for being a part of this,

Elizabeth







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