Adriano Espaillat: “I thank Representative Bowman for yielding. Don't forget, I also represent Manhattan. I am a Latin from Manhattan. Madam…”

“I thank Representative Bowman for yielding. Don't forget, I also represent Manhattan. I am a Latin from Manhattan. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for giving me the opportunity to address this incredible issue. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of canceling student debt for over 43 million Americans. In fact, Madam Speaker, student debt for some time now has surpassed credit card debt for America. It is mind- boggling to consider that for many Americans they could be indebted for a significant period of their adult lifespan. Those who have children and then choose to help them out could be indebted for an entire life. So this is not the way a country should move forward. For more than a decade, mounting student loan debt has made it difficult for many Americans to purchase a home, to start their own business, to move forward and aspire to be part of the middle class or the advancement that this Nation should promise all its people. They have difficulties saving for the future of their families, so this is a transgenerational crisis. It is far beyond one generation. Recent data shows that borrowers in the United States owe collectively $1.6 trillion in Federal and private student loan debt. With the surge of the coronavirus cases and the rise in unemployment claims, the student loan crisis only worsened. It became a very deep crisis not only impacting American futures but putting in jeopardy the immediate needs and well-being of American families.…”