-For Immediate Release-
StudentLoanJustice.Org Endorses The Green Party’s
Howie Hawkins for President
October 14th, 2020
For the first 15 years of our existence, we fought hard for the return of bankruptcy protections to student loans. During this time, the major parties ignored our pleas as this predatory lending system exploded to nationally threatening proportions. Just before the coronavirus hit, 80% of all federal borrowers were never going to be able to repay their loans. The default rate for 2004 was found to be 40%, and this class was borrowing less than one-third what students borrow today. With the onset of Covid-19, it is now fair to say that this is a catastrophically failed, viciously predatory, and nationally threatening lending system that demands an immediate and drastic response.
Of all presidential candidates, only Howie Hawkins and the Green Party have a real solution for this failed lending system: Cancellation of all student debt.
The major party candidates for President are not offering meaningful or trustworthy solutions. Before the pandemic- in Iowa and around the country- we pushed them all (as a minimum requirement for our endorsement) to pledge to return bankruptcy protections to student loans by executive order. While Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders agreed, Joe Biden declined to meet even this minimum threshold.
Furthermore, Biden’s plan is wholly unimpressive and untrustworthy. His loan cancellation proposals are partial measures that will likely never pass Congress, and even if passed, would be administered in bad faith by a Department of Education that- as countless examples over many years have demonstrated- has no desire or intentions of cancelling loans. Biden’s plan is an insult to the large majority of our 800,000 members, and will do little-to-nothing for the 55 million voters in the coutry who have- or are cosigned on student loans.
President Trump has been a disaster on this issue to this point, has no meaningful plan, and deserves no support. We petitioned the President repeatedly to cancel federally owned student loans by executive order (which he could do without needing any appropriation, and without adding to the national debt), but he and his administration have ignored our call.
We strongly urge the 55 million borrowers and cosigners in the country to ignore the major party candidates as they have ignored us, and vote for the only candidate and party who offer a real solution to this problem: Howie Hawkins and the Green Party.
Contact: Alan Collinge
(202) 594-1120
justice@studentloanjustice.org
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SIGN OUR PETITION calling on the President to cancel student loans by executive order. We have over 700,000 signatures. Help us get to a million!
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Student Loan Justice
We are the oldest and largest true grassroots group fighting for the return of standard consumer protections to student loans. Established in 2005, we have been feature on 60 Minutes (top story), CNN, FOX News, MSBNC, CNBC, Rolling Stone, the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, NPR, PBS, Vice News, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and many other places.
Most importantly: after 15 years of fighting, we now have two critically important bills in both the Senate and House of Representatives, that will return constitutional bankruptcy rights to student loans- S.1414 and HR. 2648. Please help us push this legislation. We cannot win without you.
Update: We recently started a petition calling on the President to cancel student loans by executive order. Please sign and share this important petition.
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