Warren, Pressley help Brockton residents sign up for student loan cancellation

BROCKTON - Sen. Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley came to Massasoit Community College to help local residents register for President Joe Biden's new student debt cancellation program.

As part of their student debt cancellation tour, during which the duo travelled to several cities across Massachusetts, Warren and Pressley spoke to a large crowd of current, former and future college students at Massasoit's library.

"If education is really meant to be life's great equalizer, we cannot put it out of reach for people," Pressley said.

At least 10 current Massasoit students, as well as at least 10 adults who have graduated from college, attended the event. Immediately following Warren and Pressley's speeches, several attendees began their applications.

The deadline to register for the program is Dec. 31, 2023, and Pressley said that over 22 million people have signed up within the first 10 days that the application has been open.

"We know that it's not true 'if you build it, they will come' if people don't know about it," Pressley said referencing the application process for the program. Pressley said that she and Warren want "to ensure that this process is one that is equitable, that is efficient and that is streamlined."

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Pressley said that for incoming college students who don't yet qualify nor have loans taken out, they plan to fight for policies that increase federal investments in higher education and tuition-free community colleges.

In addition, Warren ensured attendees that the debt cancellation won't impact their credit reports, but it "ought to make folks credit reports better over time" by lowering how much they owe.

Signing up to cancel student debt

Andrea Frank, 48, has been paying $1,000 every month over the last eight years for her student loans, and still has "a lot left" to pay. She said she's taken out roughly $75,000 in loans for her undergraduate and graduate education.

She said she plans to submit an application soon.

"Quite honestly, [I'm] bringing my debt down to pay for my kids' college," she said, "that means they'll get a stress-free trip through school."

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As a professor at Massasoit, Frank said her children kids will receive financial aid if they go to a public college in Massachusetts. Otherwise, she has to pay for it on her own.

"And that doesn't help for graduate school or if they go to school out of state," she said.

Pressley said that roughly 800,000 families in Massachusetts are eligible for some level of student loan cancellation under the new program.

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Several employees from the Student Borrower Protection Center walked residents through the beginning phase of the application using computers in the college's library or on their cell phones.

"I don't call it debt forgiveness because borrowers did nothing wrong," Pressley said.

Enterprise staff reporter Chris Butler can be reached by email at cbutler@enterprisenews.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Chr1sButler. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Enterprise today.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton student loan cancellation: Warren, Pressley sign people up