Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is among 22 GOP governors who on Monday called on President Joe Biden to immediately withdraw his student loan policy.
In their letter, the governors said the plan would only benefit an “elite few,” while being funded by the “vast majority” of taxpayers.
Under Biden’s plan, announced last month, borrowers who make up to $125,000 a year could have up to $10,000 in student loans erased. The amount doubles for Pell Grant recipients.
The administration initially pegged the cost at about $240 billion. But independent analysts have said the final bill could be doubled or perhaps quadruple that estimate.
And under Biden’s plan that debt would be shifted to taxpayers instead of the borrowers.
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“As governors,” the letter to Biden said, “we support making higher education more affordable and accessible for students in our states, but we fundamentally oppose your plan to force American taxpayers to pay off the student loan debt of an elite few.”
They added that the cost – which the governors estimated at $600 billion – is “a price the people of our states cannot afford.”
“Only 16-17 percent of Americans have federal student loan debt, and yet, your plan will require their debts be redistributed and paid by the vast majority of taxpayers. Shifting the burden of debt from the wealthy to working Americans has a regressive impact that harms lower income families,” the letter continued.
“(H)ourly workers will pay off the master’s and doctorate degrees of high salaried lawyers, doctors, and professors.” In the end, “the wealthy benefit at the expense of the working.”
“Simply put, your plan rewards the rich and punishes the poor. College may not be the right decision for every American, but for the students who took out loans, it was their decision: able adults and willing borrowers who knowingly agreed to the terms of the loan and consented to taking on debt in exchange for taking classes,” the governors argued.
“A high-cost degree is not the key to unlocking the American Dream—hard work and personal responsibility is. For many borrowers, they worked hard, made sacrifices, and paid off their debt. For many others, they chose hard work and a paycheck rather than more school and a loan. Americans who did not choose to take out student loans themselves should certainly not be forced to pay for the student loans of others.”
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The state-level executives further maintained, “At a time when inflation is sky high due to your unprecedented tax-and-spend agenda, your plan will encourage more student borrowing, incentivize higher tuition rates, and drive-up inflation even further, negatively impacting every American. Even economists from your own party oppose your plan for raising demand and increasing inflation.”
“Rather than addressing the rising cost of tuition for higher education or working to lower interest rates for student loans, your plan kicks the can down the road and makes today’s problems worse for tomorrow’s students.”
The governors also noted that Biden’s plan “includes more than economic objections but process problems as well.”
“As president, you lack the authority to wield unilateral action to usher in a sweeping student loan cancellation plan, a position shared by leaders of your party. Last year, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stated, ‘People think that the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not. He can postpone, he can delay, but he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress.’”
“For these reasons and more,” the GOP governors concluded, “we call on you to withdraw your student loan plan immediately.”
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds reportedly led the charge against Biden’s plan. Interestingly, even left-leaning GOp Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland signed the letter – significant because the White House has identified Hogan as the sort of non-”MAGA Republican” governor it can work with.
As The Free Press reported, DeSantis bashed Biden’s gambit last month as soon as it was announced.
“He does not have the Constitutional authority to do this,” DeSantis said at the time. “He is relying on emergency powers because of COVID. So, wait a minute, you got a Ph.D. in gender studies five years ago and that has something to do with COVID. It is an abuse of power. It’s not constitutional.”
“The university should be responsible for that (forgiveness) if they’re producing people that went deep into debt and their degree is not worth anything, and they’re not able to make enough money to pay it back. Well then that’s on them and they’ve had an incentive to get more and more loans taken out and then put it in their pocket,” he added.
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