Updated at 2:23 p.m.
Seventeen Democratic state attorneys general on Friday called on the federal government to cancel tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is leading the multistate effort, which calls on President Biden to take executive action and cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Healey and the other attorneys general said immediate relief is needed for borrowers struggling to pay back their debt, especially during the pandemic and economic crisis.
“Student loan borrowers were already struggling before the COVID-19 pandemic and recession,” they wrote. “Many borrowers already owed more than they originally borrowed.”
In an interview, Healey told GBH News she thinks debt relief would provide a much-needed economic stimulus.
“So many families are drowning in student loan debt — even people who are 10, 20 years out of school — and this is going to provide a jolt to our economy,” she said. “It’s going to help deal with some of the race disparities that we have seen, too.”
Healey said such debt relief would increase Black and Latino household wealth, helping to narrow the country’s racial wealth gap.
“Those who have student debt that is disproportionately setting them back happen to be borrowers of color,” she said.
It’s unclear what percentage of borrowers who would qualify for their debt to be forgiven are Black or Latino.
Earlier this week, during a town hall in Milwaukee hosted by CNN, Biden rejected the idea but said he’d support canceling a smaller amount of $10,000.
Biden has also said his plan to back free public college would help future students.
