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In a possible conflict of interest, at least 13 Congressional Democrats who want President Joe Biden to forgive college loans are deep in educational debt, ethics experts told the Washington Examiner.
“Regardless of the wisdom of the policy, certainly those who could gain personally from it should think about taking a step back from leading on the issue,” said Michael Chamberlain, director of the watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust.
“This is little different from officials advocating or voting for policies that benefit companies in which they own stock. Some people may even consider it worse, perhaps, because it’s at the direct expense of taxpayers.”
An analysis of newly released financial disclosures by the Washington Examiner showed that at least 13 Democratic members of Congress who support student loan forgiveness reported on 2022 filings having a total of some $1.7 million in their own or a family member’s student debt.
In June, the Supreme Court ruled that Biden’s $400 billion federal student loan forgiveness plan of up to $20,000 each for millions of borrowers skirted congressional authority. In the past week the White House launched a new program that permits borrowers to apply for smaller monthly debt payments with the ability to qualify for loan forgiveness after 10 years.
Nearly 90 Democrats joined a letter to Biden, urging him him to use “additional tools” to “cancel student debt by early 2024.” Should the president do so, 13 signatories or their relatives who in 2022 held loans would directly benefit.
That includes Democrat Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York), Rashida Tlaib (Michigan), Ilhan Omar (Minnesota), Jamaal Bowman (New York), Grace Meng (New York), Jimmy Gomez (California), Nanette Barragán (California), Brendan Boyle (Pennsylvania), Veronica Escobar (Texas), Nikema Williams (Georgia), Salud Carbajal (California), Jasmine Crockett (Texas), and Greg Casar (Texas).
Bronson Winslow, investigative researcher for the conservative advocacy group Restoration of America, said that “these conflicts of interest inevitably lead Americans to question whether policies are implemented in favor of the public’s benefit or solely for the purpose of personal gain.”
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, told the Washington Examiner that “debt doesn’t vanish into thin air like Democrats lead people to believe. Someone always has to pay the bill and, in this case, the American taxpayer is on the hook.
“That reality doesn’t seem to bother Democrats, who have proven time and time again that they’re willing to break the law when it’s beneficial to them.”
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.