FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2023
SCOTUS Student Debt Ruling Hurts Americans of Color, California Community Builders Says
Student Debt Worsens the Racial Wealth Gap; Relief Still Urgently Needed
CONTACT: Adam Briones, California Community Builders CEO, 510.961.3957, abriones@ccbuilders.org
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA – California Community Builders CEO Adam Briones made the following statement in response to today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling invalidating the Biden administration’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 of student debt:
“Student debt crushes dreams, and it disproportionately crushes the dreams of Americans of color. A survey last year by Bankrate.com found that Latino borrowers owed nearly as much on their student loans as their entire household net worth, and Black borrowers owed even more than their household net worth. Due to widespread poverty in Indigenous communities, Native American and Alaska Native borrowers are most likely to default on their student loans. For too many, student debt payments make it impossible to adequately save for emergencies or to buy a home, which is the main way American families build wealth and financial security.
“The Supreme Court today guaranteed that these dream-crushing debt burdens will continue unless Congress acts. And I must say I find it ironic that one of the votes to kill relief for student borrowers came from a Supreme Court justice who had a billionaire benefactor pay the expensive private school tuition for the child he was raising. People have a right to be angry over this, and Congress needs to act – now.”
California Community Builders seeks to close the racial wealth gap by focusing on the core issue of housing and homeownership. Taking a data-driven, outcomes-focused approach, we research and advocate for policies that promote wealth-building and tear down barriers created by redlining, exclusionary zoning, and all forms of discrimination.
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CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY BUILDERS
Closing the Racial Wealth Gap Through Housing & Homeownership