B-Roll, Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Signs Legislation to Expand Public Servants' Access to Student Loan Forgiveness

Good morning, everyone. What a spectacular day in New York City. We are back at this place once again to make a life changing announcement. Last time we were here, we talked about how we're helping people get out from the burden of not having enough tuition assistance. And we declared that part-time students were also entitled to tuition assistance, allowing thousands of New Yorkers to be able to continue to live their dreams to get that education while being able to support themselves. So, it is great to be back here at BMCC. It's a site of all good announcements, in my opinion.

I do want to acknowledge, I know a lot of our elected officials, many of our elected officials and leaders have been acknowledged. I do want to acknowledge the presence of Superintendent Adrienne Harris. What an extraordinary job she has done. And in the last year, stepping up to lead a complex organization. Department of Financial Services, but she does it with the authority, but also the depth of understanding that I wanted to have. So, I said I would assemble the dream team and she has further evidence that I've exceeded succeeded in doing that. So, Adrienne Harris, thank you. Thank you for all you do.

I know our elected officials are acknowledged, but there's two who we are going to be hearing from shortly, and those are the sponsors of the bills that we'll be signing. Senator Kevin Thomas, bill sponsor, is going to be speaking shortly, and Assemblymember Harvey Epstein. I want to thank both of them for understanding the challenges that our young people are under and helping them give them some relief here. As mentioned, James Davis, the President of the Professional Staff Congress, CUNY, is going to be speaking, as well as Fred Kowal, President of United University Professions. And I've worked with Fred for, I think most of my adult life, so great to see everybody here.

Now, we're talking about not just those who needed tuition assistance, but we realize we come to a place like this, we can talk about the power of what elected officials can do to lift people up. You know, the power of public policy, and nothing changes people's lives like good quality education. I'm living proof of that. You've heard my story of my father being able to get that college degree while he worked at the steel plant, and everything changed with that certificate, with that degree. But when going to school means going into debt and putting shackles on you for most of your adult life, then it's not as appealing. When your education is a burden weighing you down and not a badge of honor lifting you up, it's a deterrent. A lot of people just say, I can't do that. How can I do that? So, before I actually - earlier this year, we had situation where New York schools would actually withhold your transcripts if you had unpaid debt. How is that supposed to work for you? How are you going to get out and get the job and you don't have your transcripts, you're not getting the job. So, we fix that. We took care of that problem.

So let's - but well, today we're talking about student loan debt. Last month President Biden, and thank you, President Biden and our leaders in Congress. Senator - Major Leader, Senator Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, great champions for us. They made history by implementing an unprecedented student loan reform and debt relief. Debt relief for millions of New Yorkers and Americans all over. And the impact for us is transformative. Has anyone figured out what it means for New York residents? You know the number? I had to double check this. $16.3 billion in student debt will be canceled in this state alone. That is extraordinary. That's over 15 percent of all the federal student loan debt is held here in New York. 15 percent. Over a million New Yorkers will have their student debt totally wiped out. That's a clean slate. That means I can build my life. I can do all those things that I've not been able to do. And at least over 2.25 million New Yorkers will receive some kind of relief. So, that's life changing. That's what I'm talking about. Life changing decisions, before they're made, you're crushed under debt. Your future is uncertain. After they're made, you're liberated. Life all of a sudden looks a lot better for you, especially in these tough, tough times you are living through. My God, it's been hard. I'm old enough to remember the old days of the inflation of the seventies. No, none of you all seem - you all look too young.

But it's all we talked about and it's nowhere near those numbers, but anything that raises the cost of living is hurtful, especially as moms and dads had to figure out how to pack the backpack with the same supplies our kids needed with the cost of it going up so exorbitantly. So, when you think about people crushed under the weight of student debt, you know, student debt doesn't just defer your dreams. It can derail your life if you get caught under this situation where you're trying to be liberated from it.

So, I want to thank our leaders in Washington, again for doing something about it, but there's another program out there that not enough people are talking about. Tell people in this room, and that's the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. We're here to change that. We're here to change that. Let's get the word out. Let's let people know what this means. So, more people can take advantage of it because it can be a powerful tool to lift you out of the depths of your circumstances. And this is for New Yorkers who've really earned this. They deserve a break. I'm talking about teachers, professors, government workers, military service, social workers, people in not for profits, our first responders, our firefighters, our law enforcement, our nurses, our doctors, public health professionals. These are the people that we turn to during our darkest days. The darkest days in the last 100 years, we turned to them. We thank them. We banged pots for them for God's sake.

But now this time later, when was the last time you walked up to a police officer or a firefighter or a nurse or someone in scrubs and just said, thank you, thank you for showing up. Why can't we get back to that? Because they're still showing up. They're still working hard. Our teachers are still out there working hard. So, let's not forget that sense of appreciation that all of us lived every day, so grateful that we weren't the ones who had to put on the uniform and show up to work. Or to show up in a classroom when you just weren't sure if you're going to be able to go home safely and not spread a virus to your own parents, to your own kids. So, let's not end that era of gratitude. Let's just amplify it and say, no, we're New Yorkers. We'll always be grateful for the people represented here. Always, always. So, they were there for us. But if someone dedicates themselves to serving others, helping others, sometimes the paychecks aren't what they would've been in the private sector, but they're making this sacrifice, especially those who go into government service.

I remember as a teenager, I was volunteering on elections and then when I was 18 years old, I was an intern for the New York State Assembly. And I think they paid me $3 an hour. I thought I was rich, but at the time, I believed that public service as a force of good. I saw how policies could lift people up and change their lives. I wanted to be part of that. It was part of what I felt called to do. I'm not alone in that. So many people feel that calling. I was at the Staten Island 9/11 services. I go every year. You think about a place like Staten Island, highest percentage of people who are firefighters, police officers, MTA workers, Port Authorities, police. I was at a wake last night for a Port Authority officer.

These are true public servants and they are called to serve, are grateful they serve, and you know what? They don't get a whole lot in return for that. They don't get a whole lot in return. But since 2007, there's been a Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Again, the emphasis on public service, everyone I've talked about is a public servant.

And in New York, this program has helped eligible workers receive an average of $61,000 in student debt relief. This is critically important, as well as what may not be understood by everybody. This debt relief is exempt from New York State taxes. It always has been, always will be. So, if you're teaching the next generations of our doers and thinkers, if you're out there keeping our streets safe, if you're serving in our military, you're helping government run smoothly, if you're a health care worker who spent time in the depths of hell during this pandemic - that $61,000, it is real money you can spend on the mortgage that you only dreamed about having. Or the monthly payments on a car, just basic necessities.

For a lot of New Yorkers, that $61,000 is more than an annual salary. Think about that. So, we want to make sure that you can access this. And this is a problem for us. The programs are out there. The one that was put in place during the pandemic is about to expire, but people don't know about it. That's why we're here today. Take the blow horn, sound the alarm. You need to know about this because this can be life changing for you and your children in the next generation, when you don't feel strangled by debt.

So, if you have a full-time job in public service, make 120 monthly loan payments, the rest of your debt's forgiven, but here's the problem, like I said. Not enough people have signed up. And I say, "Well, why?" That's my most prevalent question I've had as Governor, "Why? Why not? Why, why?" It's tough to work for me. I'm always asking, we call it pressure testing.

Because there's a huge barrier to entry. When you peel it back, why is it such a hassle to be able to access a program that's been there for you? It recognizes you, it honors your service, and it'll make your life so much better, but people don't know about it.

Only a fraction of eligible borrowers actually even know how to apply and those who do, some of them, their applications aren't even approved because they may have forgotten something. So too many public servants have been left high and dry. President Biden had a plan for that. He had a limited time waiver that expands the pool of eligible people for this debt relief, allowing people to retroactively receive credit for previous federal loan payments. And for New Yorkers, that's a lot.

We have 2.7 million New Yorkers in this space of public service. So for them, I want them to know loud and clear, read my lips: It's expiring, it's expiring on October 31st of this year. So, can you all help me get the word out? Yeah. Can you sound the alarm? Can you let people know? Thank you, media. So today, we're kicking off a campaign to raise awareness about the waiver, the deadline, the eligibility requirements, we're working with organizations across the state who've pledged to help us. And also, DFS has created a toolkit. Here's some information, real simple. Real easy here, big print for people like me. Big print, you can see this. Okay.

Let's make sure people know about this. There's a website, you can access information, but we're also announcing we're making easier, because we also think that there should be people when you call on a phone, they answer the phone, they answer your questions. We're also announcing - I'll be secondarily signing - a bill that makes it easier for other public service employees that take advantage of this. And it establishes that teachers and faculty who work 30 hours a week, including time spent outside of classroom, are considered fulltime workers for purposes of this.

So thank you, Senators. Thank you, Assemblymember for recognizing that some jobs have different hours, they have different descriptions, but they should not be denied the opportunity to be liberated from this debt. So, that's what we'll be signing in a few minutes. So, we plan on increasing enrollment, decreasing paperwork, the mistakes, the headaches. Let's just wipe that all out. Let's just make it easier and going forward today, we're going to make an extraordinary commitment to take care of these individuals who made a commitment to help educate the next generation.

I also want to mention someone here who's here today. Genevieve LaForge, a philosophy professor at John Jay who's now eligible for this program. She wasn't before, she grew up low-income in Pennsylvania. Her mom worked odd jobs to help make the family's ends meet. In 2008, she had to take out a $74,000 loan to go to Penn State where she studied politics and philosophy. Since then, she's not missed a single payment in 14 years, which means she's already paid $69,000 on the $74,000 she borrowed. But because of interest, she still owes 54,000 more dollars. If it wasn't for the bill we're about to sign, she'd be paying off her loan in another 16 years, when she's 58 years old. That's the kind of person we're helping here today. She should not be approaching getting Medicare, having this noose around her neck. So to liberate her, this will help change her life. And you know what she's done, she's dedicated herself to teaching incarcerated individuals at Otisville State Correctional Facility, helped the college pipeline program. So look what she's done. Look at the investment we made in her and she was willing to do this. So, thank you.

And I just want to tell you what she said about this, don't take my word for it. She said, "What this bill does, it makes me feel whole again. It'll lift up what feels like punishment for the crime of being a poor kid who just wanted to go to college." How many other Genevieves are out there in our state? Let's let them know they don't have to spend their entire adult life paying for the privilege of having a college education. This is New York. We take care of our people, we honor their service. Let's give Genevieve and all the others like her a break, and all the other public sector workers who deserve nothing less.

A "thank you" is nice. But something like this is transformative, so I'm grateful to all my partners here today. Let's get this done. Let's get the word out, everybody. Can we do that together? All right. Thank you very much.