Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) issued the following statement after President Joe Biden announced cancellation of certain federal student loan debts, which is expected to cost taxpayers at least $325 billion. Cole is the Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the U.S. Department of Education.
“President Joe Biden’s latest terrible idea to cancel a wide swath of federal student loan debts will ultimately harm hardworking Americans more than it will help anyone other than affluent voters in the days to come,” said Cole. “Forgiving federal college loans will only add more fuel to the raging inflationary fire that is already making it difficult for Americans to pay for basic items needed to live and take care of their families. Moreover, this move will add hundreds of billions of dollars more to the national debt, erasing any supposed deficit reduction and inflation relief recently touted and claimed by Democrats in their partisan reconciliation bill.
“This is an obvious giveaway meant to influence and energize younger voters on the eve of an election, and it is completely unfair to those who have repaid their debts, paid for college on their own or decided not to go to college at all to avoid debt. Sadly, by taking this action, the Biden Administration will incentivize others to go into debt believing that their debts will also be forgiven at some future date. Forgiving college debt that individuals voluntarily chose to undertake is a monumentally bad policy that will benefit the few at the expense of the many. That is exactly the opposite of what the country should be doing.”
Earlier this year, Cole introduced the Can’t Cancel Your Own Debt Act, which would disqualify members of Congress from participating in federal programs enacted during their tenure to cancel student loans – whether established by executive order, agency action or an Act of Congress. More information on that related legislation is available here.
