Washington, D.C. – Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today called on President Joe Biden to require aides with federal student loan debt to be recused from any discussions about a student loan debt transfer plan.
In part, Cotton wrote, “President Biden promised to ‘Restore Ethics in Government,’ to prevent ‘self-enrichment,’ and to ‘[ensure] that everyone in a position of public trust eliminates even the appearance that their financial holdings could influence decision-making.’”
“It’s hard to imagine a more blatant example of ‘self-enrichment’ than White House aides with federal student loan debt working to transfer their debts to taxpayers who never attended college,” Cotton continued.
Text of the letter may be found here and below.
To: WH EOP, Office of Government Ethics, Department of Education
Cc: House Ethics Committee, Senate Ethics Committee, OMB
Despite claiming that we are in a strong economy, President Biden has repeatedly delayed repayment of federal student loans. Public reports state that the President is also planning to “forgive” at least $10,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower by transferring these debts to taxpayers. The failure to require repayment has cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars and transferring the debt would cost billions more.
Bloomberg reported that dozens of White House aides have substantial federal student loan debt[1]. This is a clear conflict of interest, as these aides stand to profit by transferring their debts to taxpayers.
President Biden promised to “Restore Ethics in Government,” to prevent “self-enrichment,” and to “[ensure] that everyone in a position of public trust eliminates even the appearance that their financial holdings could influence decision-making[2].”
It’s hard to imagine a more blatant example of “self-enrichment” than White House aides with federal student loan debt working to transfer their debts to taxpayers who never attended college.
Does the White House require aides with federal student loan debt to be recused from working on a student loan debt transfer plan? If not, why not?