Owens Statement Opposing Biden’s Unconstitutional Student Loan Debt Transfer

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04) issued the following statement on President Biden’s unconstitutional plan to “cancel” student loan debt at the expense of millions of hardworking Americans. 

“Every person who agreed to a student loan did so with the full and transparent commitment to pay the money back. Transferring that debt to hardworking families and creating an offramp for responsibility is deceiving public policy with abysmal economic implications. It’s also a slap in the face to millions of Americans who worked hard to pay off their loans. Rather than focus on responsible reforms to the federal student loan program, President Biden has proposed a temporary $230 billion band-aid that will aggravate inflation and add $60 billion to our country’s deficit. We have to do better.” 

Background: 

• According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, canceling $10,000 per person of student debt for households making below $300,000 a year would cost roughly $230 billion.
• Projections from the Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) estimate the plan would cost the average taxpayer over $2,000. 
• According to Forbes, the richest 40% of Americans carry 60% of student loan debt, while the bottom 40% carry just 20%, meaning that canceling billions in student debt would benefit the wealthy. 
• The plan creates unrealistic expectations and does ” little to help future college students, borrowers who have already paid off their loans and those who never went to college in the first place.” 
• 6 in 10 Americans are concerned that student loan forgiveness will make inflation worse. 

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