{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/in-senate-banking-hearing-chairman-powell-agrees-with-senator-warren-that-student-loan-debt-drags-down-our-economy", "In Senate Banking Hearing, Chairman Powell Agrees with Senator Warren that Student Loan Debt Drags Down Our Economy", "2020-12-01", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "MA", "Elizabeth Warren", "W000817", "www.warren.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "December 01, 2020\n\t\t\t In Senate Banking Hearing, Chairman Powell Agrees with Senator Warren that Student Loan Debt Drags Down Our Economy \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t As Republicans continue to block relief, President-elect Biden can cancel billions of dollars in student loan debt -- the single most effective executive action available to provide a massive stimulus to our economy\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t Video\r\nof Exchange (Youtube) Read\r\nthe Cancel Student Debt Resolution Here Washington, DC - In a Senate Banking Committee hearing\r\ntoday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell confirmed to United States\r\nSenator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) that the high level of student debt is a\r\ndrag on our economy. Chairman Powell agreed that people \"weighed down by debt\"\r\nat a time when unemployment is very high will negatively impact economic\r\nactivity as people are forced to send money back to the federal government to\r\ncover student loan payments instead of spending that money in the economy. This\r\nacknowledgment comes at a time when policymakers should be focused on economic\r\nrecovery. Canceling billions of dollars in student loan debt is needed now more than\r\never as more people are getting sick from the coronavirus than at any other\r\ntime during the pandemic, as 12\r\nmillion workers will lose unemployment insurance after Christmas Day, and\r\nas Republicans continue to block state and local government aid, unemployment\r\nbenefits, and checks for families. Canceling\r\nstudent debt would provide a massive stimulus to the economy, and\r\nPresident-elect Biden has the ability to administratively do this on day one by\r\nusing the authority Congress has already given to the Secretary of Education. Transcript:\r\nU.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs  \r\nTuesday, December 1, 2020 Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you very much, Mr.\r\nChairman. So, today, more people are getting sick from the coronavirus than at any\r\nother time during the pandemic. And on top of that, many people-- the help that\r\nmany people have relied on is about to disappear. So, the day after Christmas,\r\n12 million workers will lose unemployment benefits. That same week, Secretary\r\nMnuchin will be shutting down the Federal Reserve programs that are designed to\r\nhelp the economy. So, Chair Powell, you've been clear about the need for more fiscal support\r\nto help families and businesses get through this crisis. So, let me ask you specifically about help to individuals that puts more\r\nmoney in their pockets during an economic crisis. This is kind of economic\r\nstimulus 101. If individuals have a bit more cash to spend every month, that\r\nhelps them, but it also helps the economy, right? Chairman Jerome Powell: Yes. Senator Warren: Okay. So, there are two ways to get more\r\nmoney into people's pockets. The first is providing payments like stimulus\r\nchecks or unemployment insurance, which I strongly support. The second is by canceling the debts that people owe, so they can spend that\r\nmoney elsewhere. The largest category of household debt other than mortgages is\r\nstudent loans. And most of that debt is owed directly to the federal\r\ngovernment. Now, right now, those debt payments are paused, but the clock is running\r\nout. On New Year's Day, the median borrower will have to restart paying more\r\nthan two hundred dollars a month to the federal government. That's at a time\r\nwhen our economy needs people to be able to spend more money, not less. So, Mr. Chairman, you've said in testimony before Congress that you think\r\nthat rising student debt is \"the main concern\" when looking at the\r\noverall household debt picture. You've also said, \"It's been rising fast\r\nand is now large. There is increasing evidence that shows that students who\r\ncan't pay that...debt have difficulty having normal economic lives and buying\r\nhomes and things like that.\" Mr. Chairman, would you agree that high levels of student debt will have a\r\nnegative impact on our economic recovery if millions of households have to\r\nreduce spending in order to make debt payments? Chairman Powell: So, others and I have\r\nbeen calling out the rising student debt for some years now, particularly-- Senator Warren: Yes, you have. Chairman Powell: We've singled it out for not being able to\r\nbe forgiven in, forgiven in solvency among all different kinds of debt. So,\r\nthat's a longer-term problem. In terms of what appropriate relief would be--\r\nwhat relief would be appropriate here in the current situation, I would--\r\nI would have to defer to those who have authority to make that decision. Senator Warren: I'm not asking you about\r\nwhat the-- the question is about what Congress should do. I'm asking you a\r\nquestion about what it does to the economy. If people who, instead of spending\r\nthat money in the economy, are spending that money by sending money back to the\r\nfederal government on their student loan payments. That is a problem for the\r\neconomy, is it not? Chairman Powell: Certainly, people\r\nwho are weighed down by debt in a situation like this, where they may\r\nbe unemployed, or unemployment is very high among, for example, low-wage\r\nworkers. That can weigh on economic activity. Yes. Senator Warren: Fair enough, but I think\r\nwe started with economic stimulus 101. Two-hundred bucks is two-hundred bucks\r\nthat could be spent in the economy. Now, Mr. Chairman, you've also noted that\r\nstudent loan debt has another impact on a struggling economy and that is that\r\nstudent loan debt makes it harder for people to qualify for mortgages, to buy\r\nhomes, to start small businesses. You've noted that those things drag our\r\neconomy down. Do you still feel that way? Chairman Powell: Yes. So, I think over -- data are showing\r\n-- over longer periods of time people who take on student debt in an effort to\r\nmake their lives better and brighter, and if it doesn't work out that way, they\r\ndrag that debt down through their economic lives, and it can get in the way of\r\ntheir credit history, of course, and their ability to own a home, and their\r\nwhole economic life for many years. Senator Warren: Right, and then that has an overall impact\r\non the economy in terms of home sales, or in terms of business startups. Is\r\nthat right? Chairman Powell: Yes. In effect, those\r\npeople are unable to participate, perhaps in the economy, to the full extent\r\nthat they might be able to, which would weigh on the economy. Senator Warren: So, thank you, Mr.\r\nChairman. You know, I know you've said that you don't know how you could be\r\nclearer on pushing Congress to act on more fiscal stimulus, and I agree\r\nentirely with you on that. But most types of economic stimulus are pretty much\r\nimpossible when Republicans in Congress refuse to take action. Aid to state and\r\nlocal governments, unemployment benefits, checks for families - right now,\r\nRepublicans are blocking help on all of these. But student loan debt is different. All on his own, President-elect Biden\r\nwill have the ability to administratively cancel billions of dollars\r\nin student loan debt using the authority that Congress has already given to the\r\nSecretary of Education. This is the single most effective economic stimulus\r\nthat is available through executive action. And as you've noted in the past, research shows that canceling student loan\r\ndebt would boost GDP, create jobs, reduce unemployment, jumpstart small\r\nbusiness formation, support the housing market, promote job and economic and\r\ngeopolitical mobility, and increase the annual incomes of borrowers by about\r\n$4,000. So, it would also help close the racial wealth gap. It is time to act. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/in-senate-banking-hearing-chairman-powell-agrees-with-senator-warren-that-student-loan-debt-drags-down-our-economy"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3980199582874775, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}