Friend,

Right now, one in every five Americans are trapped under a crisis-level $1.7 trillion in student loan debt.

But with over 90% of student loan debt originating from and owned by the federal government, the Department of Education has the power to create and cancel debt owed under federal programs. That means that immediately upon taking office, President-elect Biden could cancel all federal student debt.

So a growing coalition in Congress is calling on Biden to cancel up to $50,000 in federal debt per borrower, which would contribute to an equitable economic recovery from COVID-19, jumpstart our economy, and help close the racial wealth gap.

Will you join me and our allies across the country? Add your name now: Demand President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris cancel student debt.

We know that the best way to jumpstart our economy is to put money in people’s pockets so they can spend it in their communities.

Canceling student debt would especially help Black and brown families, who are disproportionately impacted and face the inequity of a widening wealth gap as compared to white families. Due to this racial wealth gap, Black and brown students are more likely to have to borrow money to go to college in the first place—further widening the wealth gap as student debt weighs people down for years after they complete their education.  

According to a recent report, the typical Black borrower still owes 95% of debt 20 years after starting college—having paid mostly for interest, rather than paying off the loan itself.¹ Meanwhile, the typical white borrower owes just 6% of loans after the same time period.

That’s an unacceptable inequity, which we have the power to fix. As Senators Warren and Schumer note, canceling student debt would help close the Black-white AND Latinx-white wealth gap by over 25%.²

Such action is more urgent than ever, with our country’s health and economic crises disproportionately hurting communities of color.

Sign now to call on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris: Cancel student debt and close the racial wealth gap by over 25%.

Less than 11% of people with federal student debt are repaying their loans during the pandemic, and most will have difficulty resuming payments once it’s over. Even before this recession, one in four borrowers couldn’t repay their loans. And student loan debt has tripled since 2006!

Clearly, these disparities are the result of a system that has blocked access to education to Black and brown communities. With the cost of higher education growing while wages stagnate, college degrees don’t mean what they used to. Nearly 40% of education loan borrowers were unable to complete college, but even those with degrees haven’t been able to save money the way previous generations have.

It’s time for a change.

Sign now to cancel student debt and provide much-needed relief for people across the country.

In solidarity,

Rashida