FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 30, 2023
PHOENIX – Representative Cesar Aguilar said today's decision by the conservative Supreme Court overruling President Biden's student loan forgiveness program will needlessly crush tens of millions of young Americans – including nearly 900,000 in Arizona – with higher education debt. Aguilar, former Executive Director of the Arizona Students Association, added support for President Biden's next steps, which will use other authorized methods to address student debt in spite of the politically charged ruling.
"For far too long student loan providers who work with the federal government have profited off the backs of Americans seeking a higher education, generating $5 billion a month on student loans. With this extreme Supreme Court ruling against President Biden’s Student Debt Cancelation plan, Americans will have less money in their pockets to pay for bills, goods and services strained by inflation. This action will lead to less consumer spending and will reduce economic growth.
Nearly 900,000 mostly younger Arizonans hold student debt, about 13 percent of our population and the 15th highest number of borrowers in the country. When Republicans say this court decision will impact wealthier Americans, they are wrong. This ruling impacts the middle class who took out loans to afford to go to college. The conversation around student loans also must center on who is actually profiting off the backs of people seeking to contribute to our economy and society. When families are spending their whole lives paying for student debt, how is that right, or even legal?
President Biden reminded everyone today that taxpayers bailed out businesses by forgiving PPP loans during the pandemic, which cost the nation $760 billion. In comparison, the President's plan to cancel student debt would have benefited middle-income working families who were also impacted by the pandemic, and would have cost only $400 billion, but with stronger economic benefits throughout the whole state as younger Arizonans could have bought homes, started businesses and grown their families free from crushing student debt."
Details on President Biden's next steps for student debt relief can be found here.
