The Newark City Council is urging the federal government to enact a policy that would cancel all student loan debt.
The action from city officials came via resolution during a Tuesday meeting, which was sponsored by Central Ward Councilwoman LaMonica McIver. It called on President Joe Biden to use his executive authority to cancel all federal student loan debt, which in turn would represent an “enormous economic opportunity” for the city to increase spending in the community.
"Canceling student loan debt and eliminating debt in higher education represents an enormous economic opportunity for the City of Newark to increase spending in our local community, support individuals’ upward mobility, and provide a deeply needed stimulus during the pandemic,” the resolution reads. “Economically disadvantaged residents from Black, Latino, Indigenous, Asian and Pacific Islander, and other communities of color are most impacted by student debt.”