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Friends — This week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the Biden administration's case to reinstate the President's plan to cancel billions of dollars in student debt. A victory would result in more than 40 million Americans seeing up to $20,000 in student loans forgiven, and would wipe student debt entirely for 20 million people across the country. Our movement has fought long and hard for this for years, and with these Supreme Court hearings, we're once again at a critical fork in the road. Will we as a society forgive this debt and allow millions of people to learn, prosper, and grow? Or will we continue to punish millions with insurmountable debt for the crime of pursuing an education? This is an important moment for our movement to stand together on this issue, which is why I need to ask: I'll put it simply: The cost barriers to education in the United States are unacceptable. Today in America, over 40 million people are carrying over $1.8 trillion dollars in student loan debt. That figure has doubled in the past 10 years, and is more than double what the entire United States — federal, state, and local — will spend on public education this year combined. This is a crisis — period. I know the pain and the struggle that comes with overwhelming student loan and tuition payments personally. I would bet that I am one of only a handful in Congress who does. That pain and struggle is shared by millions of Americans each and every day — working people who have put aside buying a home, raising a family, starting a business, or following a dream because they did what we as a society have always told our young people to do: go to college. The obscene amount of debt in this country doesn't even account for the millions of people who are qualified, capable, and wanting to go to college who were forced not to because of the financial consequences. It is an outrage that we have allowed things to get to this point, especially at a time where the ultra-wealthy and large corporations continue to pay next to nothing — if anything — in federal taxes. Debt forgiveness would be an incredible victory for our movement, but at the same time, it cannot be the end of the road. $10 or $20,000 is a life-changing amount of money, but for millions of people, it only puts a small dent in the staggering amount of money they still owe. That's why our movement must continue our fight — not just for debt forgiveness, but for tuition-free college and education for all, regardless of one's income, ZIP code, or anything else. The right to an education is a fundamental component of a moral society, and I won't stop fighting until our agenda is a reality. So please: Debt-forgiveness and free education is an investment in our students, our people, our economy, our present and our future. Let's get it done. Thank you for reading, and thank you for your support. In solidarity, Ilhan Omar |
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