Lawmakers Call for Fourth Rulemaking Season to Consider Relief Proposal for Most Vulnerable Borrowers

Text of Letter

BOSTON — Today Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Bernard Sanders (I-VT), alongside Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-SC), Representatives Frederica Wilson (D-FL), and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Senators Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Alex Padilla (D-CA), led their colleagues in calling on the Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to host a fourth session of the student debt negotiated rulemaking to consider relief for borrowers experiencing financial hardship. In total, nearly 40 lawmakers from the House and Senate signed the letter.

Since the Supreme Court struck down President Biden’s original student debt relief plan, the administration has been pursuing an alternative path for student debt relief through negotiated rulemaking (neg-reg) under the Higher Education Act. However, the Department of Education has not proposed language targeting relief to borrowers experiencing financial hardship, and the negotiators were unable to take a vote on a hardship category in the third and last scheduled negotiated rulemaking session. Many negotiators asked if another session would be scheduled to consider “those experiencing hardship that is not otherwise addressed by the existing student loan system.”

“While we appreciate the efforts of the Department and the negotiating committee, we are concerned that, without full consideration of cancellation targeted toward borrowers facing financial hardship, the rule will not provide adequate debt relief for the most vulnerable borrowers,” the lawmakers wrote. “The Department should announce a fourth session of the neg-reg to allow the appropriate time for negotiators to discuss and vote upon a relief proposal for borrowers experiencing financial hardship.”

The lawmakers also explained how the agency could define “financial hardship,” giving the Department a framework to solidify regulatory language and finalize a vote on this category.

The letter was also signed by Representatives Alma Adams (NC-12), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Cori Bush (MO-01), Greg Casar (TX-35), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Barbara Lee (CA-12), Gwen Moore (WI-08), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Katie Porter (CA-45), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Bennie Thompson (MS-02), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) and Nikema Williams (GA-05), and Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

A copy of the letter can be found here.

• On December 11, 2023, Rep. Pressley testified at the U.S. Department of Education’s final hearing on student debt cancellation.
• On December 11, 2023, Rep. Pressley and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Representatives Ilhan Omar (MN-05) and Frederica Wilson (FL-24), sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, urging him to leverage his existing and full authority under the Higher Education Act to provide expanded student debt relief to working and middle-class borrowers. 
• On November 30, 2023, Rep. Pressley emphasized the crucial role of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in protecting student loan borrowers from incompetent and predatory student loan servicers.
• On November 6, 2023, Rep. Pressley joined Attorney General Andrea Campbell, Mayor Michelle Wu, and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) for a clinic to help federal student loan borrowers access a temporary opportunity to get closer to Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). 
• On September 25, 2023, Rep. Pressley hosted a policy discussion with borrowers and advocates at which they renewed their urgent call for student debt cancellation with loan payments set to resume on October 1, 2023.
• On August 23, 2023, Rep. Pressley, Sen. Warren, and their colleagues led over 80 lawmakers in a letter to President Joe Biden, urging him to swiftly deliver on his promise to deliver student debt cancellation to working and middle class families by early 2024. 
• On August 22, 2023 Rep. Pressley applauded Governor Maura Healey’s plan to provide student debt relief for health care workers in Massachusetts. 
• On June 30, 2023, Rep. Pressley responded to the President’s alternative proposal to deliver relief under the Higher Education Act and called for swift and efficient implementation.
• On June 30, 2023, Rep. Pressley issued a statement slamming the Supreme Court’s decision to block President Biden’s student debt cancellation plan and calling on the President to use other tools available to swiftly cancel student debt.
• On May 30, 2023, Rep. Pressley filed an amendment to H.R. 3746, legislation to raise the debt ceiling, to protect student loan borrowers and preserve the Biden Administration’s pause on federal student loan payments.
• On May 24, 2023, Rep. Pressley issued a statement slamming Republicans’ harmful effort to overturn President Biden’s student debt relief, including his debt cancellation plan, the pause on student loan payments, and the expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
• On May 24, 2023, Rep. Pressley delivered a powerful speech in support of President Biden’s plan to cancel student debt, which would benefit millions of people across the country.
• On April 5, 2023, Rep. Pressley and Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to the CEO of SoFi Technologies and SoFi Lending Corp calling on the company to answer for its lawsuits attempting to end the student loan payment pause and force borrowers back into repayment.
• On March 7, 2023, Rep. Pressley, along with Sens. Warren, Schumer, Sanders, Padilla and Reps. Clyburn, Omar and Wilson led a letter to the Biden Administration expressing continued support for President Biden’s student debt relief plan.
• On February 28, 2023, Rep. Pressley rallied with borrowers and advocates outside the Supreme Court to call on the Supreme Court to affirm the legality of President Biden’s student debt cancellation plan.
• On November 22, 2022, Rep. Pressley issued a statement applauding the extension of the student loan payment pause.
• On October 25, 2022, Rep. Pressley and Senator Warren toured communities across Massachusetts to celebrate the Biden administration’s student debt cancellation plan and help residents sign up for student loan relief.
• On October 12, 2022, Rep. Pressley joined parent borrowers and advocates for a discussion on the impacts of student debt cancellation on parents and families.
• On September 29, 2022, Rep. Pressley, along with Senate Majority Leader Schumer and Reps. Omar, Jones and advocates, held a press conference to call for swift and equitable implementation of President Biden’s student debt cancellation plan.
• On September 21, 2022, Rep. Pressley delivered a powerful speech on the House floor in which she heralded President Biden’s action to cancel student debt for millions of families in the Massachusetts 7th and across the nation. Watch the full video here.
• On September 12, 2022, Rep. Pressley and Senator Warren wrote to the nine federal student loan servicers to inquire about how they are providing borrowers with accurate and timely information about student loan cancellation.
• On August 24, 2022, Congresswoman Pressley issued a statement applauding President Biden’s action to cancel student debt.
• On August 10, 2022, Congresswoman Pressley and Senator Warren Massachusetts joined Massachusetts union leaders in Dorchester for a roundtable discussion on student debt cancellation.
• On July 18, 2022, Congresswoman Pressley delivered remarks at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) national convention and renewed her calls for President Biden to cancel student debt by executive action.
• On July 8, 2022, Congresswoman Pressley with The Debt Collective hosted a virtual roundtable with student debt holders from all walks of life to highlight the intersectional burden the nearly $2 trillion student debt crisis has had on individuals and families. 
• On June 22, 2022, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, with Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, joined AFL-CIO and union leaders for a roundtable discussion on the importance of student debt cancellation for American workers.
• On May 20, 2022, Congresswoman Pressley applauded the Congressional Black Caucus’ (CBC) statement calling on President Biden to cancel student loan debt.
• On May 4, 2022, Congresswoman Pressley visited Bunker Hill Community College to celebrate the $1 million in federal community project funding she secured and continued her calls for President Biden to cancel student debt.
• On March 17, 2022, Congresswoman Pressley and Arisha Hatch, vice president and chief of campaigns at Color of Change, published an op-ed in Grio calling on President Biden to use his executive order authority to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt per borrower.
• On December 8, 2021, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a bicameral letter to President Joe Biden releasing new data about the adverse impact of restarting student loan payments and calling on him to act to cancel up to $50,000 of student debt.
• On December 2, 2021, Congresswoman Pressley delivered remarks on the House floor in which she reiterated her calls for President Biden to cancel $50,000 in federal student loan debt by executive action.
• On October 8, 2021, Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar and their House colleagues sent a letter to President Biden and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona urging him to release the memo to determine the extent of the administration’s authority to broadly cancel student debt through administrative action.
• On July 29, 2021, Congresswoman Pressley issued a statement reaffirming President Biden’s authority – and the urgency – to cancel student loan debt.
• On June 23, 2021, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Congressman Joe Courtney led their colleagues on a bicameral letter to President Biden calling on him to extend the pause on federal student loan payments.
• On April 13, 2021, Congresswoman Pressley testified at a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Policy hearing to examine the student loan debt crisis in our country.
• On April 1, 2021, Congresswoman Pressley, along with Senator Elizabeth Warren and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, held a press conference calling on President Biden to tackle the student loan debt crisis.
• On February 4, 2021, Congresswoman Pressley, along with several Democratic House and Senate leaders, led their colleagues in reintroducing a bicameral resolution outlining a bold plan for President Biden to tackle the student loan debt crisis. 
• On December 17, 2020, Representatives Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, Maxine Waters, and Alma Adams introduced a resolution outlining a bold plan for President-elect Joe Biden to cancel up to $50,000 in Federal student loan debt for student loan borrowers.
• On December 10, 2020, Congresswoman Pressley was in Yahoo Finance urging the Biden administration to cancel student debt, stressing the impact on Black borrowers.
• On May 8, 2020, Representatives Ayanna Pressley, Alma Adams, and Ilhan Omar, led 28 of their colleagues and sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy calling for the universal, one-time, student debt cancellation of at least $30,000 per borrower in the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation.
• On March 23, 2020, Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar introduced the Student Debt Emergency Relief Act, legislation that provides immediate monthly payment relief for federal student loan borrowers.
• On March 17, 2020, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and Senator Elizabeth Warren were on The Hill calling on congressional leadership to include student debt cancellation in the next coronavirus relief package.
• On October 11, 2019, Congresswoman Pressley introduced legislation – the Ending Debt Collection Harassment Act – to protect consumers from abusive debt collection.
• On July 17, 2019, Congresswomen Pressley introduced legislation – the Student Borrower Credit Improvement Act – to provide much needed support to private student loan borrowers with a pathway to financial stability by helping them improve their credit.

###