Dems Pushing College Loan Forgiveness Owe Massive Sums In Student Debt, Records ShowGabe Kaminsky
Investigative Reporter
July 12, 2022 8:07 PM ET
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Over a dozen Democratic members of Congress who have supported student loan cancellation reported up to roughly $1.5 million combined in their own or a family member’s educational debt, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of financial disclosures.
The Biden administration is reportedly mulling over a policy to forgive student loan debt for millions of borrowers and it is unclear whether income limits would be included.
“When Members have these type of connections to issues they are directly advocating for, it leads to citizens fairly questioning whether members are advocating for the public good or their own personal interests,” said Kendra Arnold, executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, a watchdog group aiming to uphold ethics in government.
More than a dozen Democratic members of Congress who have urged President Joe Biden to forgive student loans reported up to around $1.5 million in educational debt, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of financial disclosures.
The 13 Democratic members, who are an average of 46 years old, reported the debts in 2021 and 2020. Individual debts range from as little as $15,000 to as much as $300,000.
The lawmakers have all supported at least some degree of federal student loan cancellation, a policy the Biden administration is reportedly considering. This includes New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who owes up to $50,000 worth and has repeatedly tweeted about the issue, and also Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who owes up to $100,000 and has called cancelling student debt “a racial justice issue.”
New York Rep. Grace Meng, who along with other Democrats in March demanded Biden forgive student loans “to address racial and economic equity issues,” disclosed in 2021 that her spouse owes up to $250,000 in educational debt.
The Biden administration may limit cancellation for people who earned $150,000 in the prior year — or married couples filing jointly who earned less than $300,000 in the prior year — but it remains uncertain how the cancellation plan could be implemented. Members make a base salary of $174,000 per year.
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https://dailycaller.com/2022/07/12/dems-biden-student-loans-forgiveness/
