Congressman Dean Phillips (D) isn't exactly applauding President Biden's plan to erase student loan debt for millions of Americans, though he does say there are aspects of it he supports.
“There's a lot that we could do to boost young kids,” Phillips said. “Early childhood education, childcare, child tax credit, so many more ways. I think that we could boost children, but most importantly, we're just putting a Band-Aid on a very serious disease. And the fact that we are only addressing that (loans) is troublesome.”
Phillips told WCCO’s Chad Hartman at the Minnesota State Fair that the fundamentally broken higher education system should be addressed first.
“First of all, 40 million Americans are going to be helped by this,” says Phillips. “And almost all of them, have literally no assets. They’re underwater. So, as someone who cares deeply about those who work hard, and wish to achieve success, and are burdened by debt, yes am I pleased they have some relief? Absolutely. But, we have a fundamentally broken higher education system.”
Rep. Phillips goes on to say that he understands those that are disappointed and frustrated because they worked hard to pay off debt.
“I absolutely do and that’s why I think we should focus more on a solution to the problem,” says Phillips.
While Phillips disagrees fundamentally with the proposal, he says he fully supports the provision in the president’s plan that caps debt service at 5% of your income.
“That’s a big deal. That was one of my propositions is that, if you carry student loans, you should be carrying the lowest possible interest rates, not the highest. And if you’re paying more for educational loans than you are for your car loan, there’s something fundamentally wrong with our system. Those are tweaks that are important, he was able to achieve that too and it’s something we should all recognize.”
Like Phillips, some moderate Democrats have joined with Republican lawmakers in opposing the loan forgiveness plan.
Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar (D) and Tina Smith (D) have said they support the president’s plan.
On Twitter, Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer (R) said, “Debt cannot be cancelled; it can only be transferred. President Biden’s socialist proposal to 'cancel' student loan debt will fuel inflation and do nothing to fix our broken higher education system.”
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