Leah Millis | Reuters President Joe Biden criticized congressional Republicans for criticizing student loan forgiveness after tax cuts for the wealthy were approved. “I will never apologize for helping middle class America – especially not from the same people who voted for a $2 trillion tax cut for the rich and giant corporations that ran up the deficit,” the president tweeted from his official account of @POTUS on Thursday. Biden made one of the most significant policy decisions of his presidency on Wednesday when he announced the cancellation of up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for borrowers earning less than $125,000 a year or $250,000 for married couples or heads of households. Pell Grant recipients can cancel up to $20,000 in debt. Debt relief is limited to the amount of the borrower’s outstanding debt, according to the Department of Education. Some congressional Republicans immediately sought to undermine Biden’s debt relief plan. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called it a “radical agenda.” “Biden’s debt transfer scam will make inflation worse and does nothing to stop the spiraling cost of college for most families,” McCarthy tweeted Wednesday. “Americans cannot afford the Democrats’ radical agenda.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green called the loan forgiveness policy “unfair” in an interview with conservative news network Newsmax TV. “Taxpayers across the country … shouldn’t have to pay the big, big student loan debt for some student who racked up a ton of debt at some Ivy League school,” Greene said. The Georgia Republican added that Biden’s debt cancellation policy is a plan to attract Democratic votes in November’s midterm elections. However, public records show that Greene was the beneficiary of loan forgiveness in the early months of the pandemic. A $182,200 PPP loan made to Greene’s company, Taylor Commercial Inc., in April 2020 was forgiven with accrued interest, according to records maintained by ProPublica. And wealthy Americans benefited from a nearly $2 trillion tax loophole after former President Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — passed by a Republican-controlled Congress — into law in 2017. Three-quarters of the benefit from the tax cuts described in accordance with the Tax Foundation’s analysis. Biden’s debt cancellation policy is projected to cost the federal government about $244 billion, according to higher education expert Mark Kadrowicz. Forgiveness for Pell Grant recipients will cost another $120 billion. The debt relief plan also extends the moratorium on repaying student loan debt until December 31, 2022. Over 40 million Americans owe $1.7 trillion in student loan debt.
