IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1269 
Calling on the President of the United States to take Executive action 
to broadly cancel Federal student loan debt. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 17, 2020 
Ms. PRESSLEY (for herself, Ms. OMAR, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. WATERS, Ms. DEAN, 
Ms. LEE of California, Ms. JAYAPAL, and Mrs. HAYES) submitted the fol-
lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Calling on the President of the United States to take 
Executive action to broadly cancel Federal student loan debt. 
Whereas the United States is facing historic public health 
and economic crises caused by the coronavirus (COVID– 
19) pandemic that threatens the financial well-being of 
nearly every American family; 
Whereas even before the COVID–19 pandemic, the United 
States also faced a historic student loan crisis, which is 
currently holding back our struggling economy and re-
stricting opportunity and prosperity for millions of Amer-
ican families; 
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Whereas nearly 43,000,000 Americans currently hold more 
than $1,500,000,000,000 in Federal student loan debt; 
Whereas more than 9,000,000 Federal student loan bor-
rowers are currently in default on those Federal student 
loans; 
Whereas the COVID–19 economic recession and historic un-
employment have compounded stagnant wages, labor 
market discrimination, and rising costs of living, making 
it nearly impossible for many Americans to ever fully 
repay their student loans; 
Whereas this historic student debt crisis has left millions of 
Americans less prepared to weather the recession trig-
gered by the COVID–19 pandemic as communities of 
color, which never fully recovered from the devastating 
effects of the previous economic recession, have been hit 
hardest by the devastating health and economic con-
sequences of the COVID–19 pandemic; 
Whereas student debt disproportionately impacts borrowers 
of color, who face the worst effects of the student debt 
crisis, with— 
(1) Black students, due to ongoing structural bar-
riers that have resulted in persistent racial inequities in 
incomes and wealth, forced to accrue more student debt 
and more often than their White peers; 
(2) Black student borrowers struggling more in stu-
dent loan repayment, including defaulting at higher rates 
than their White peers; 
(3) nearly half of Black graduates owing more on 
their undergraduate student loans 4 years after gradua-
tion than they did when they received their degree; 
(4) the median Black student borrower owing 95 
percent of their debt 20 years after starting college, while 
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the median White student borrower owing 6 percent of 
their debt after such period; and 
(5) Latinx student borrowers, who borrow at rates 
similar to their White peers despite having lower house-
hold incomes and significantly less household wealth, are 
more likely than their White peers to default on their stu-
dent loans; 
Whereas Black students and other students who have at-
tended historically Black colleges and universities have 
had to bear a larger share of student loan debt because 
of the historic and continued underfunding of these insti-
tutions at the State and Federal levels; 
Whereas student debt cancellation for the families that need 
it most can substantially increase Black and Latinx 
household wealth and help close racial wealth gaps; 
Whereas women hold more than two-thirds of the Nation’s 
student loan debt and must borrow an average of $3,000 
more than men to attend higher education; 
Whereas, if left unaddressed, the student debt crisis will 
worsen inequality, exacerbate the current recession, widen 
the racial wealth gap, and slow economic recovery; 
Whereas broad student debt cancellation is the most efficient 
and effective solution to our student debt crisis, would 
help millions of families, and would remove a significant 
drag holding back our economy; 
Whereas broad student debt cancellation would provide imme-
diate relief to millions of American families who are 
struggling during this pandemic and recession, and pre-
vent them from having an unsustainable student debt 
burden waiting for them once this pandemic is over; 
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Whereas broad student debt cancellation would provide a 
boost to our struggling economy through a consumer- 
driven economic stimulus, greater home-buying rates and 
housing stability, expanded access to more affordable fi-
nancial products including car loans and mortgages, 
higher college completion rates, and greater small busi-
ness formation; 
Whereas while President Donald J. Trump’s Memorandum 
on Continued Student Loan Payment Relief During the 
COVID–19 Pandemic, issued August 8, 2020, was ex-
tended until January 31, 2021, millions of borrowers 
continue to experience unprecedented economic insecu-
rity, face one of the toughest job markets in recent his-
tory and will continue to need long-term relief; 
Whereas more than 100 community, civil rights, consumer, 
and student advocacy organizations have urged student 
debt cancellation for all borrowers in response to the 
COVID–19 pandemic public health and economic crises; 
Whereas Congress has already granted the Secretary of Edu-
cation the legal authority to broadly cancel student debt 
under section 432(a) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1082(a)), which grants the Secretary 
the authority to modify, ‘‘. . . compromise, waive, or re-
lease any right, title, claim, lien, or demand, however ac-
quired, including any equity or any right of redemption’’; 
Whereas the Department of Education has reportedly used 
this authority to implement relief for Federal student 
loan borrowers during the COVID–19 pandemic; and 
Whereas, on June 29, 2020, President Donald J. Trump, 
with the support of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, 
vetoed H.J. Res. 76 ‘‘Providing for congressional dis-
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approval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, 
of the rule submitted by the Department of Education re-
lating to ‘Borrower Defense Institutional Account-
ability’ ’’, blocking a resolution that passed Congress with 
bipartisan support to overturn a Department of Edu-
cation rule that makes it harder for defrauded Federal 
student loan borrowers to see their loans discharged: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the Secretary of Education’s 
broad administrative authority to cancel Federal stu-
dent loan debt under the existing authorities of sec-
tion 432(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1082(a)); 
(2) calls on the President of the United States 
to take Executive action to broadly cancel up to 
$50,000 in Federal student loan debt for Federal 
student loan borrowers administratively using exist-
ing legal authorities under such section 432(a), and 
any other authorities available under the law; 
(3) encourages the President of the United 
States, in taking such Executive action, to use the 
Executive’s authority under the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 to ensure no tax liability for Federal 
student loan borrowers resulting from administrative 
debt cancellation; 
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