Vice President Kamala Harris says the Biden Administration is “forgiving” student loan debt so college dropouts with a history of making poor financial decisions can afford to go back to school and try again
Kicking off her Nationwide Economic Opportunity Tour at the Georgia International Convention Center on Monday, Harris touted the Biden Administration’s economic policies, including its cancellation of more than $150 billion of student loans.
Harris attempted to justify the Biden Administration’s cancellation of student loan debt – by encouraging behavior that promises to create even more unviable student loan debt.
“They didn’t graduate, some people, because they couldn’t afford to keep paying tuition. But they still have to pay back that loan,” Harris explained, urging her audience to “get the word out” to people who dropped out that their bad financial decision can now be rewarded:
“Let people know they qualify for student loan debt [forgiveness] even if they never graduated.”
By forgiving their first student loans, college dropouts will be able to “afford to go back” to school and take on new student loan debt, Harris said:
“And again, let’s just let people know that they don’t have to have graduated in order to — to get their debt forgiven, especially if that might mean that, if they want to go back to school, they can go back and — and know that they can afford to go back.”
“So, part of my advice is: Go for it. Apply for it,” Harris said. “And – and all – and get the word out, right?”
In reality, the Biden Administration isn’t actually providing “forgiveness” of student loans – it’s just redistributing their $150 billion-plus debt to U.S. taxpayers.
Harris also cheered a legally-suspicious ploy that the administration used to justify disobeying a Supreme Court ruling that Biden’s student loan cancellations are unconstitutional:
“So, you know, I’ll tell you, we went bolder with this — our plan and — for student loan debt relief, and then the Court cut some of the stuff that we were doing. But we have not stopped.
“And so, we are through whatever — and all of the powers that we have through executive orders and things of that nature been forgiving, again, up to f- — $150 billion of student loan debt.”
To circumvent the Supreme Court ruling, the Biden Administration has resorted to a new scheme, which is being challenged in court by 18 states through two lawsuits, as Fox News reports:
“The Supreme Court rejected that plan last year, saying Biden overstepped his authority. The new plan uses a different legal justification — the Higher Education Act, which allows the secretary of education to waive student loan debt in certain cases. The Education Department has been going through a federal rulemaking process to clarify how the secretary can invoke that authority.”
Last month, the Biden Administration released a new proposal that would reportedly redistribute an additional $84 billion of student loan debt to taxpayers, in the guise of “forgiveness.”
Happening Now: I am back in Atlanta, Georgia to kick off my nationwide Economic Opportunity Tour with a moderated conversation alongside Earn Your Leisure. https://t.co/CnrxyHRMT2
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) April 29, 2024