resolution

1. THE UNIVERSITY PARK UNDERGRADUATE ASSOCIATION
The Pennsylvania State University
16th Assembly
2021 - 2022 Session Resolution #20-16
January 12th
, 2021
Be it decided by the Assembly of Student Representatives,
having been brought to the floor by the Committee on Governmental Affairs,
a
RESOLUTION
Support for the Student Borrower Protection Center’s letter to President
Joseph R. Biden Demanding Student Debt Cancellation and an Extension on
COVID-19 Student Loan Protections
Nature of the Situation:
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On December 8, 2021 the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) sent President of the
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United States Joseph R. Biden a letter1
asking for his administration to follow through on a
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promise made to Americans to forgive student loans. President Biden promised to forgive at least
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$10,000 per American with federal student loan debt, and he has failed to do so in the first 11
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months of his Presidency.2
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On January 31, 2022, COVID-19 Emergency Relief protections for Federal Student Aid will end
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before President Biden fulfills his promise to United States citizens to cancel student debt. The
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SBPC wrote, “Tens of millions of student loan borrowers are slated to be thrown back into
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repayment on federal student loans they are ill-equipped to pay as the deadly COVID-19
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pandemic continues to devastate Americans’ health and financial security.”
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A total of 207 other organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU),
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American Association of University Professors, American Psychological Association, HBCU
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Collective, Public Citizen, and the State of New Mexico, have co-signed this letter.
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These organizations also say, “We write to urge you to put a stop this crisis in the making before
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it begins and extend the current pause on student loan payments. It is clear that payments should
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1
Appendix 1
2
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/14/what-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-plan-means-for-borrowers.html

2. not resume until your administration has fully delivered on the promises you made to student
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loan borrowers to fix the broken student loan system and cancel federal student debt.”
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More than half, 64%, of Penn State students graduated with $38,521 in federal student loans
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which is an 8.48% increase from 2018 graduates. This statistic fails to include loan balances
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accrued through private lenders meaning the crisis is worse than the data suggests. Also in that
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year, “Pennsylvania was ranked as the state with the highest student debt nationally.3
”
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In 2019 Pennsylvania was ranked “dead last,” in LendEDU’s annual ranking of the states with
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the lowest student debt load.4
Penn State not only has over 40,000 undergraduate students, but it
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also has 19 commonwealth campuses. These heavy financial burdens represented in statistics
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about Pennsylvania students are carried by our own student body. Relief for our constituency
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needs to be a priority.
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There are current relief plans in place to help Penn State students after they graduate, but they
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fail to appropriately address the problem at hand. The SBPC also wrote in their letter that, “The
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National Consumer Law Center received data through FOIA showing that, as of January 2021,
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only 32 borrowers had successfully navigated the IDR repayment plans and received
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cancellation, out of more than 4 million with decades-old debts.” They also said, “The Education
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Department acknowledged a backlog of 175,000 applications for Public Service Loan
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Forgiveness… The recent announcement of the limited and temporary PSLF waiver does offer a
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new path to relief for some borrowers, but inconsistent servicer implementation of the new rules
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threatens its promise.”
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Recommended Course of Action:
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The University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) on behalf of the University Park
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Undergraduate Student Body hereby supports the demands made in the Student Borrower
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Protection Center’s letter to United States President Joseph R. Biden, including both extending
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the current pause on student loan payments and canceling $10,000 in federal student loan debt.
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The President of the UPUA is hereby charged with sharing our support with relevant Penn State
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administrators and organizations.
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The Department of Public Relations is hereby charged with the dissemination of this information
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through the appropriate channels.
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3
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/08/pa-ranks-third-highest-in-student-loan-debt-nationally-study-shows.html
4
https://www.pennlive.com/news/erry-2018/08/ea624c29672075/graduates-of-these-pa-colleges.html

3. Respectfully submitted,
Annmarie Rounds-Sorensen
At-Large Representative
Nora O’Toole
At-Large Representative
Chair of Governmental Affairs
Noah Robertson
College of Liberal Arts Representative
Vice-Chair of Academic Affairs Committee
Sam Ajah
At-Large Representative
Vice Chair of Governmental Affairs

4. Committee Vote: 6/0/0
Assembly Vote: 25/2/5
Speaker of the Assembly ________________________________________________
President of the Student Body ________________________________________________
The University Park Undergraduate Association