There
has been lots of noise about canceling student debt recently.
That’s
worse than closing the barn door after the horse has escaped.
It’s
like buying a new horse but leaving the barn door open!
If
all student debt was gone tomorrow, we would be right back where we started
when a whole new crop of students graduate.
Last
month, the administration unilaterally extended the pause on paying back
student loans for all borrowers until the end of August, regardless of need.
It
doesn’t matter that all Americans are back to work now if they want to be.
It
doesn’t matter if the borrower is making six figures and can afford to pay off
their loans.
The
latest extension will bring the cost of this student loan payment pause up to
$150 billion.
For
context, the entire Department of Education budget for this year is about half
that – $80 billion.
Higher
education advocates have been calling for a doubling of the Pell Grant.
That’s
the program that targets aid to those with the most financial need.
It’s
a noble goal to double the Pell Grant, but of course Congress needs to find the
money somewhere to do that.
Instead,
the Biden administration is spending billions of dollars to allow high-earners
with graduate degrees to not pay their loans with no say from Congress.
If
you want to help those who owe more in student loans than they can afford to
pay, we need to fix the student loan program on the front end.
We
need to change the incentives and give colleges a reason to bring down tuition.
Right
now, a high school student looking at college is often in the dark about what
they will pay.
It’s
no wonder that prices rise when students don’t even know what they are, and
students are encouraged to borrow the maximum even if they don’t need it.
That’s
why I introduced three bipartisan bills to give students the information they
need to make the choice that works best for them.
My
bills would make it easier for a student to see how much each college would
cost, what aid they’re getting, and what their average salary versus student
loan payment would be.
The
answer isn’t to cancel student debt only after students have gotten
in-over-their-heads.
It’s
to stop them from getting in that situation in the first place.
And
it certainly shouldn’t be done unilaterally from the White House with no say
from Congress on a $150 billion program.
Even
worse, the benefits of just canceling or pausing student debt are mainly going
to those at the top of the income range.
Graduates
with the most debt also tend to be those with the longest degrees, and they are
now doctors or lawyers.
Doctors
and lawyers might have plenty of debt now, but people with a graduate degree
are also much more likely to have a higher salary and much higher lifetime
earnings.
Are
the two-thirds of Americans without a college degree somehow less deserving of
a free $10,000 or $50,000 in canceled debt than doctors and lawyers?
I’m
sure many Iowans would be happy to have their car loans or mortgages paid off.
Canceling
debt is not the solution.
Instead,
I have been glad to see many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle join
my bills to prevent excess student debt in the first place.
We
need to help students by giving them the information they need to find the best
college for their needs at a cost they can afford.
Forgiving
student debt is a slippery slope to a lot of other interests wanting debt
forgiveness.
