Whitehouse student loan debt

 Washington Examiner:

A group of House Republicans is raising ethics concerns over White House staffers who may be encouraging the president to clear student loans while holding as much as $4.7 million in student loans themselves — a potential conflict of interest pervading the halls of the West Wing.

The group — led by Reps. James Comer (R-KY), the ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Virginia Foxx (R-NC), the ranking member of the Committee on Education and Labor — penned a letter to Office of Government Ethics Director Emory Rounds outlining their concerns.

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“President Biden’s student loan bailout is unfair to hardworking Americans who do not hold a college degree or who made tough financial decisions to pay for their college education," Comer said in a prepared statement sent to the Washington Examiner. "President Biden’s bailout also raises ethical concerns about Biden administration officials with student loans who are working on this bailout scheme and stand to benefit financially from it."

Biden is weighing whether to shift $10,000 or more per borrower of student loan debt on to taxpayers, which has infuriated Republicans and invited legal scrutiny. Reports hold that borrowers earning up to $150,000 individually and $300,000 if married would qualify, though nothing official has been announced yet.

According to a Bloomberg story, some of the biggest beneficiaries of student loan shifting work within the White House walls. Financial disclosures from the Office of Government Ethics show 30 staffers hold more than $10,000 in loan debt, including press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Bharat Ramamurti.

Nearly 20% of all aides required to file the disclosures reported holding student loans, which totaled between $2 million and $4.7 million collectively. One staffer reported owing between $500,000 and $1 million. Many lower-level staffers didn't have to report, nor did those owing less than $10,000, meaning the grand total is likely to be higher.

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I have worked for companies that had less debt and businesses that had a cash flow. Rewarding these people with debt forgiveness does not seem fair to those of us who paid off our student loans.