The Biden administration is continuing to remind Americans of the true circumstances surrounding Republican members of Congress and debt.
Though they have often feverishly opposed the president’s plan to provide debt relief to general categories of those with debt from student loans, some of them had large loans of their own forgiven under federal efforts that supported businesses in connection to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. That list even includes Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). (The federal assistance program for businesses was known as the Paycheck Protection Program, and it was first implemented under Donald Trump — not a Democrat.)
“The choice House Republicans make today will send a clear message to their constituents,” Biden administration press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a recent briefing ahead of a key House vote. “Let’s take a look. Will Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had $183,000 of her own business loans forgiven, vote to deny debt relief to the 92,000 student borrowers she represents?.. To the more than 40 million eligible student borrowers who are eagerly waiting to learn about the fate of their debt relief, I urge you to tune in to today’s vote to watch which Republican lawmakers shamelessly vote against debt relief for you after having their own loans forgiven. And know this: President Biden won’t stand for it. He will not stand for it. And he will veto this bill because, let’s be clear, this is not about cutting wasteful spending for Republicans and it never has been.”
She then noted some of the other areas where Republicans have resisted potentially money-saving action. The vote that Jean-Pierre was discussing was, in fact, held, with almost all Democrats who participated in the vote opposing the proposal. As Republicans’ majority is slim and not all members were voting, it was still close, though. A full 216 members backed the measure, which would have nullified past provisions to forgive student loans, while 203 opposed it. The general debt relief program remains under court dispute. (Separately, the Biden administration has pursued targeted forgiveness of such debt, serving individuals like workers in public service fields and securing a total of $42 billion worth of debt cancellation.)
