A cascade of conservative organizations and Republican politicians ripped President Joe Biden Wednesday, saying the president’s planned student loan cancellation was an “unfair” handout to “privileged college graduates.”
The White House announced Wednesday that the administration would be implementing a student loan forgiveness program that will see federal student loan borrowers with an annual income of less than $125,000 eligible for $20,000 in loan forgiveness if they received a Pell Grant to attend college. All other borrowers in that income bracket would be eligible for $10,000 in loan forgiveness.
LEGAL FLIP: PELOSI PRAISES STUDENT LOAN CANCELLATION SHE ONCE SAID WAS BEYOND BIDEN’S AUTHORITY
In a statement following the president’s announcement, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), the ranking member on the House Committee on Education and Labor, said that the decision to cancel wide swaths of federally held student loans was “wrong, unfair, and irresponsible.”
“President Biden will say and do anything to appease his radical progressive base, even if it means bankrupting our country and kneecapping taxpayers in the midst of an inflation crisis,” Foxx said. “This is a slap in the face to those who never went to college, as well as borrowers who upheld their responsibility to taxpayers and paid back their loans. It’s a signal to every freshman stepping foot on campus to borrow as much as they can because taxpayers are picking up the tab.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) noted in a tweet that Biden’s debt cancellation was forcing the burden of the debt on taxpayers who hadn’t taken out loans.
https://twitter.com/GOPLeader/status/1562474995116175360?s=20&t=tD5KcKVeDI77nQdY3oY0Vg
“Who will be forced to pay for Biden’s debt transfer scam? Hard-working Americans who already paid off their debts or never took on student loan debt in the first place,” McCarthy said.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) criticized the president and his party and said the cancellation would worsen inflation and was a “slap in the face” to working-class families.
“Washington Democrats have found yet another way to make inflation even worse, reward far-left activists, and achieve nothing for millions of working American families who can barely tread water,” McConnell said. “President Biden’s student loan socialism is a slap in the face to every family who sacrificed to save for college, every graduate who paid their debt, and every American who chose a certain career path or volunteered to serve in our Armed Forces in order to avoid taking on debt. This policy is astonishingly unfair.”
Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse likewise said that the policy was a “scheme” that “forces blue-collar workers to subsidize white-collar graduate students.”
“Instead of demanding accountability from an underperforming higher education sector that pushes so many young Americans into massive debt, the Administration’s unilateral plan baptizes a broken system,” Sasse said. “This deeply regressive action — which fails even to acknowledge that most debt is held by folks with graduate degrees — will do nothing to jumpstart the reform higher education desperately needs.”
Reaction to the president’s announcement was similarly harsh from several conservative organizations, many of which were particularly concerned that the administration’s loan forgiveness plan would worsen already elevated inflation rates.
“Providing a $330 billion handout to privileged college graduates at a time of record-high inflation is one of the most reckless policies the Biden Administration has enacted,” said Isabelle Morales, a policy communications specialist at Americans for Tax Reform. “This decision will fuel already-surging inflation by spending money we do not have. While most Americans — 87 percent of which do not have federal student loans — are living paycheck to paycheck, they must now subsidize the hasty financial decisions of those with college degrees and high earning potential. This move is unbelievably out-of-touch.”
Jessica Anderson, the executive director of the conservative political advocacy group Heritage Action, said that the administration’s policy amounted to an “election year gimmick that will benefit the wealthy elite while simultaneously punishing responsible Americans.”
“With the wealthiest 40% of borrowers holding 60% of all loan debt, this announcement is an insult to middle- and working-class Americans who either did not attend college or responsibly paid off their loans,” Anderson said. “The American people see through Biden’s transparent attempt to reverse his rapidly declining approval rates ahead of midterm elections.”
In contrast, members of the president’s own party quickly lined up to praise the cancellation.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who had previously said the president lacked the authority to forgive student loans without congressional approval, praised Biden for what she said was a “bold action.”
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“By delivering historic targeted student debt relief to millions of borrowers, more working families will be able to meet their kitchen table needs as they continue to recover from the challenges of the pandemic,” Pelosi said. “Importantly, this action will help those most in need, easing a financial burden disproportionately harming women and people of color.”