CWA Next Gen Applauds Biden Administration’s Historic Student Debt Relief Plan

Since 2015, CWA Next Generation, which represents members of the Communications Workers of America who are 35 and younger, has advocated for student debt relief. Earlier this year, CWA joined more than 500 concerned organizations asking President Biden to keep his promise to working families by immediately canceling student loan debt via executive action.

We applaud yesterday’s announcement that the Biden administration has taken much-needed action. The new plan includes:

1.  up to $20,000 in student debt cancellation for Pell Grant recipients with federal Department of Education loans; 
2. up to $10,000 in student debt cancellation for those who did not receive Pell Grants; and 
3. an extension of the pause on federal student loan repayments through December 31, 2022.

If you make less than $125,000 as an individual or $250,000 as a married couple, you’re eligible for debt cancellation. The White House says up to 20 million borrowers could have their student debt eliminated.

The Department of Education is also proposing caps on monthly payments and improvements to the current loan forgiveness program for those working in public service jobs. Other reforms, including cutting monthly repayment amounts for undergraduate loans and forgiving all loan balances after 10 years of payments, have been proposed as well.

“This debt cancellation plan will be a huge game changer for millions of young workers,” said CWA Next Gen Director Lisa Bolton. “I’m so glad CWA and our Next Gen members have been a part of making it finally happen.”

More information about the plan and what it means for individual borrowers can be found on the White House website here.