Sen. Warren Hosting Middle Class Prosperity Project Forum Thursday

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, will hold the third in a series of congressional forums as part of the Middle Class Prosperity Project.

Thursday’s forum, titled “Tackling the Student Debt Crisis,” will focus on how rapidly increasing college costs and student loan debt threaten America’s middle class.

The U.S Treasury, Federal Reserve, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have warned that student loan debt is imposing a strain on the economy. In the last year alone, nearly one million more borrowers have fallen behind on their student loan payments, and total student loan debt has risen to $1.3 trillion. These high debt levels are increasingly keeping young people from buying homes and cars or starting small businesses.

Panelists at Thursday’s forum will include UMass Boston Chancellor J. Keith Motley, current and former college students grappling with the costs of higher education, and government and academic experts.

PANELISTS:

• J. Keith Motley - Chancellor of UMass Boston
• Deanne Loonin - NCLC, Director of Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project
• Rohit Chopra - CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman
• Bridget Long - Harvard, Saris Professor of Education and Economics
• Current and former college students to describe the challenges of affording college and student loan debt

The public event will be held Thursday, April 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the University of Massachusetts Boston in the Campus Center, Ballroom C, at 100 Morrissey Boulevard in Boston.