Download a table of state student loan servicing laws from the report. (Updated September 2022) Today, 44 million Americans are saddled with student loan debt. They currently owe over $1.5 trillion—an amount which has more than doubled over the last decade. The causes of this exploding debt burden are many: increasing tuition, stagnant wages, the shifting role of federal government in student lending, divestment from higher education, and the growth in predatory for-profit colleges. Poor servicing practices, particularly placing borrowers in consecutive forbearances instead of appropriate...
Student loans create debt burdens that impact families for generations. Black Americans in general, and Black and Latina women in particular -- often are forced to take on more college debt than their white counterparts in pursuit of the American Dream. The student debt burden is felt most acutely by attendees of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. CRL successfully led a coalition of advocates that achieved substantial student debt cancellation in 2022. We continue to advocate for higher education policies to protect student loan borrowers and their parents from falling into a cycle of debt that keeps them from engaging in wealth-building activities.
Filter Results
The COVID-19 crisis has profound financial impacts on families across the country and on the economy overall. With businesses shuttered (including 40% of Black businesses) and record-breaking unemployment claims filed since March 2020, it is hard to overstate the financial instability and hardship this global pandemic has produced. And it will only get worse. The federal government’s response to the COVID-19 global pandemic has failed to meet the needs of Americans who are forced to choose between staying healthy and working in essential, often low-paying, jobs. Even as the recovery lags, the...
Through this poll we explore the financial impacts of COVID-19 on Pennsylvanians. The poll was conducted in June 2020 among a national sample of 415 Pennsylvania student loan borrowers in repayment.
Ten years after passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, with the country again facing an economic crisis, new polling data from Lake Research Partners, commissioned by the Center for Responsible Lending and Americans for Financial Reform shows that voters across all political parties are broadly and intensely supportive of strong consumer financial protections and of tough regulation of the financial services industry. Download the: Polling memo Toplines Time series
Download the sign-on letter from the 101 undersigned community, civil rights, consumer, and student advocacy organizations insisting on student debt cancellation for all borrowers during negotiations over the next coronavirus relief package.
A joint statement on the choice to narrow student loan debt cancellation in the HEROES Act from Action Center on Race and the Economy, American Federation of Teachers, Americans for Financial Reform, Center for Responsible Lending, Demos, Generation Progress, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), Student Borrower Protection Center, Student Debt Crisis.
From the letter to Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Scott, and Chairman McGovern: As Congress works to better protect Americans from the economic fallout of COVID-19, the financial difficulties of 44 million student loan borrowers and the effect of this debt on the economy cannot be forgotten. The relief in HEROES, especially the $10,000 of cancellation per borrower, will have a significant impact on low-income borrowers and borrowers of color. Student debt exacerbates existing systemic inequities and racial disparities, preventing recovery from extending to already marginalized groups who are still...
A majority of Americans across all regions of the US support permanently reducing student loan debt by $20,000 for all borrowers, according to a new bipartisan poll by Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting. Download the poll results Download the top lines
From the full comment letter : As more borrowers than ever migrate to online platforms, the Department’s role in ensuring program integrity is even more vital. The consensus language in the NPRM represents the best compromise between industry, innovators, and borrowers. If it is changed at all, it should be strengthened, not weakened. The final rule should include the consensus definitions regarding regular and substantive interactions, retain the consensus agreement to limit the portion of a program that may be outsourced to 50% (with accreditor approval required above 25%), and prohibit...
While we applaud that quick action for student loan borrowers, we are concerned that this unprecedented crisis is affecting many borrowers who have Perkins loans or Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans that are not federally owned and who are not covered under the CARES Act. We respectfully request that you take action to enact, as part of your next emergency legislation, provisions to extend the CARES Act interest waivers, payment and collection activities suspensions, and other benefits to all FFELP and Perkins borrowers. Download the full letter. (PDF)