NUHW joins the call for student debt relief
NUHW is joining more than 100 organizations that have already signed a letter urging President Joe Biden to extend the pause on student loan payments and cancel federal student debt.
President Biden previously extended the student loan payment pause through September, but advocacy organizations led by the Student Borrower Protection Center are calling for another extension. In a letter to President Biden, the organizations state:
The student loan payment pause has been one of the most important investments the federal government has made in Americans’ financial lives in a generation—a recognition that the inadequacies of the existing student loan safety net could not protect families in the midst of an economic and public health crisis.
For the first time, millions of student loan borrowers find themselves with the financial resources they need to make ends meet each month. Millions of others have been able to use this financial lifeline to pay down other debts, save for down payments on homes, or plan for retirement.
Before the initial pause at onset of the pandemic, tens of millions of workers risked financial ruin as they struggled to repay loans. Before repayments start, NUHW is joining advocates in calling on the Biden Administration to reform the nation’s badly broken student loan system that disproportionately ensnares young workers of color.
“Student debt relief and forgiveness is a civil rights issue,” NUHW President Sal Rosselli said. “Workers should not have their finances ruined by predatory institutions, and the debts incurred to receive an education should never become a life-long burden.”