Hey John, 

Last month, we emailed you about Congressional Democrats’ stimulus plan, the HEROES Act. Thanks to your advocacy, the HEROES Act passed the House. But Senator Mitch McConnell decided it would never see the Senate floor and now Congress is in recess. It’s time for Mitch McConnell to cut his vacation short and get back to work for student loan borrowers.

Here’s what we need Congress to do, at a bare minimum:

• CANCEL a portion of our student loan debt.
• Act for borrowers previously left out of legislation and memos, including the roughly 8 million borrowers who don’t have federal loans held by the Department of Education.
• Extend the provisions put in place by the CARES Act beyond the end of 2020, including no required payments, no interest accumulation, and no debt collection.

Right now, millions of borrowers desperately need relief—this pandemic has just exacerbated the inequities borrowers already face.

We’d be remiss if we did not mention that earlier this month Trump issued a confusing new executive order about federal student loan repayment and the interest pause. But there are lots of holes in it and we need clear, lasting legislation instead.

Now there is a real chance we can make real, substantial change for borrowers. We just need Congressional action to get this disjointed executive order turned into something effective that helps all of us, not just the few. We’re not asking for something impossible, we’re asking for legislation that’s already being discussed.

There have been a number of bills introduced by some Democrats in the House and Senate this year that would significantly and equitably help students and borrowers. What stands in our way? Senators Lamar Alexander and Mitch McConnell blocked legislation AND THEN went on vacation.

Help us call on Congress to #CancelStudentDebt in the next legislative package. We are over 45 million people strong. Send this to a friend so we can make it clear to Senators Alexander and McConnell: you have no other choice.

Ella Azoulay
Program Coordinator
Generation Progress