Hey John, 

Groceries, medication, rent, or student loan payments: pick one. That’s the unfortunate reality more Americans than ever are facing today, in what is the biggest economic crisis in decades.

While our student loans have always been tough to manage, the COVID-19 pandemic has made it impossible to pay them for more people than ever.

The news cycle is constantly moving and it’s hard to stay on top of what legislation has been passed, so we wanted to make sure you know: there is a new stimulus relief package in the works. And relief for student loan borrowers MUST be included.

Luckily, there are legislators who understand the urgency to address this issue. Last time you heard from us we were shouting our praises for the plan set for by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Elizabeth Warren.

Now, Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) have proposed another plan to relieve loan borrowers.

Under both of the plans, each borrower would be guaranteed at least $10,000 of their federal student loans canceled—which would result in student debt being canceled for 35% of borrowers! But this isn’t a reality yet.

Some of the Senate leadership nixed cancellation for borrowers in favor of corporate bailouts in the last round of legislation, the CARES Act.

Unfortunately, the CARES Act only provides a six-month moratorium on federal loan payments with a 0% interest rate. It also completely excludes commercially held FFEL and Perkins loans, and all private student loan borrowers.

With more relief packages in the works, we need to make sure student loan borrowers are included, and that Congress prioritizes financial relief for people over bailouts for corporations.

That’s where you come in. Take 15 seconds to email your Senators TODAY and tell them student loan borrowers need relief NOW.

Have an extra two minutes? After you email and tweet your senators forward this email to five of your friends and make sure they take action with you

Ella Azoulay
Program Coordinator
Generation Progress