COLLEGE
Federal student loan forgiveness of up to $50K is possible: Schumer
BY MARK HALLUM
Senator Charles Schumer
and a number of soon-to-be
Congress members have a
plan to cancel up to $50,000 in
student loan relief for Americans
already burdened with
debt before the pandemic,
which has only magnified
their hardships.
Congressmen-elect Jamaal
Bowman, Mondaire
Jones and Ritchie Torres say
they plan to make this proposal
a priority upon taking
office which will mean those
who took out loans from the
federal government could
cancel a substantial amount
of debt through the bill titled
the Higher Education Act.
“Millions of young Americans,
including so many
New Yorkers we represent
— and their families — have
been crushed by student loan
debt, greatly impeding their
ability to begin careers and
build the financial resources
needed to rent apartments,
buy homes, start families
or just simply build their futures,”
Schumer said. “Even
worse, the debt load average
across New York is actually
higher than it is across the
country, and this holds down
our entire local economy,
which we cannot afford to
suppress after dealing with
the financial devastation of
COVID.”
The legislation will hinge
on President-elect Joe Biden
using executive authority,
essentially creating another
avenue of COVID-19 relief
apart from any stimulus
bills that are presented over
the course of the pandemic
that lasts under Biden’s administration
with vaccines
on the way.
“It’s flat-out wrong that
people in this country hold
more than $1.6 trillion in
student debt,” Bowman said.
“But the Biden administration
has the power to do
something about that, and
can act even if Republicans
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in the Senate choose to ignore
the problem. Forgiving
$50,000 in student debt will
change young people’s lives,
particularly for Black young
people, who hold far more
student loan debt than their
white peers.”
According to Schumer,
student debt relief was promised
in the $2 trillion HEROES
Act which was passed
by Congress in May but did
help up in the Republican-led
senate under the thumb of
Majority Leader Mitch Mc-
Connell.
“For every generation before
mine, education has offered
young people a ticket to
the American Dream,” Jones
said. “Unfortunately, that
dream has not materialized
for the youth of today, especially
in Black and brown
communities. Wages have remained
stagnant for decades
as the costs of higher education,
and of living generally,
have skyrocketed. Forgiving
student debt would liberate
millions of Americans
to participate meaningfully
in our economy through homeownership
and entrepreneurship,
and it would be a
critical step toward racial,
generational, and economic
justice.”
Would $50,000 be enough
to level the playing for the
58 percent of Americans who
walk away from school with
student loans to justify?
New York City residents on
average hold about $38,000 in
student loan debt while the national
average runs at around
$32,700 leaving many with little
choice but to postpone their
dreams of buying homes, cars
or starting families.
Reach reporter Mark Hallum
by e-mail at mhallum@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4564.
Senator Charles Schumer File photo
Even in a year that has been this
unpredictable, there is action you
can take to make your future more
secure. There is still time to sign up
for Spring courses at CUNY.
Whether you have already begun
your undergraduate or graduate
studies or you’re just looking to
start, CUNY can help you meet your
educational and career goals. Whatever
your interest or objective, there
is a CUNY program to help boost
your skills.
If you live in New York City,
you live near CUNY. Made up of 25
unique campuses across all five NYC
boroughs, CUNY is the largest, most
diverse urban higher education system
in the country and an indispensable
New York City institution.
CUNY’s seven community colleges,
11 senior colleges and seven
graduate or professional schools provide
nearly 1,800 top-quality and affordable
undergraduate and graduate
academic programs, as well as
continuing ed. Most courses are being
offered online, at least through
this Spring.
To start laying the groundwork for
your future, you don’t have to go far.
Visit cuny.edu/learnmore.
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