The official White House Twitter account won’t let a few lawmakers raid on itsstudent loan forgivenessparade.
On Thursday night,@WhiteHouseenjoyed a viral moment following a series of matter-of-fact tweets that called out House representatives for criticizing the principle of debt cancellation even though they had personally benefited fromPPP loanforgiveness.
The Twitter thread began with a clip of Florida Rep.Marjorie Taylor Greenespeaking on Newsmax, where she says that it’s “completely unfair” for the government to use taxpayer money to cancel a portion of student loans. The White Houseshared the videowith the caption, “Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene had $183,504 in PPP loans forgiven.”
Next, they went for Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan, who hadtweeted a clipof him speaking on Fox Business about it being “outrageous” that the federal government would bail out students. “Congressman Vern Buchanan had over $2.3 million in PPP loans forgiven,“the White House wrote.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.JIM LO SCALZO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Oklahoma Reps. Markwayne Mullin and Kevin Hern tweeted that the American people should not be responsible for funding others' educations. According to the White House, Mullin received more than $1.4 million in aid for his PPP loans, and Hern received more than $1 million.
Pennsylvania Rep.Mike Kelly, who suggested that plumbers and carpenters are now responsible for paying off Wall Street advisers' loans, had $987,237 in PPP loans forgiven, according to the White House.
Finally, the White House called outembattledFlorida Rep.Matt Gaetz, who criticized the money that the Biden administration allocated for aiding Ukrainians in theirongoing war with Russia. Gaetz, the official Twitter account wrote, received $482,321 in PPP loan forgiveness.
Receiving assistance to pay off PPP loans is not criminal — or scandalous — as it’s part of aformal program through the Small Business Association, a government agency. But in highlighting how much GOP lawmakers have benefited from loan forgiveness programs themselves, the White House demonstrated that debt assistance is common.
Unlike with the PPP loan forgiveness program, Biden’s student debt cancellation plan caps aid at $10,000 for most borrowers, and $20,000 for those with greater financial need. It also requires recipients to make less than $125,000 per year so that the wealthiest Americans are not the ones getting the boost.
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On Wednesday, the White House tweeted a similar sentiment about GOP tax cuts.
“Nearly 90% of the benefits of the Biden Administration’s student loan debt relief will go to borrowers earning less than $75,000,” the tweet read. “Meanwhile, 85% of the benefits of Congressional Republicans' tax cut went to taxpayers earning more than $75,000.”
source: people.com
