WASHINGTON—Heritage Action, a conservative grassroots organization with two million activists nationwide, today announced that efforts to drive opposition to President Joe Biden’s latest attempt to “forgive” student loans have generated more than 10,000 comments submitted to the Federal Register in just two weeks. The comments, sent by Heritage Action’s grassroots supporters in coordination with other conservative groups, represent more than one-third of the 28,000 total comments posted thus far to protest the Biden debt plan.
Heritage Action Executive Vice President Ryan Walker released the following statement celebrating the milestone in the campaign against Biden’s unconstitutional rule:
“Americans are rightfully furious that Joe Biden is trying yet again to use their money to salvage his plummeting poll numbers. When Heritage Action first launched the comment portal encouraging those Americans to fight back, engagement and interest in joining the cause was immediate and historic. We are proud to stand with these taxpayers in demanding the Biden administration abandon plans to force all Americans to take on the debt of a select few, something the Supreme Court has already deemed unconstitutional. Biden’s latest debt transfer gimmick is an illegal, unfair election year stunt that is backfiring—and should cost him at the ballot box.”
Heritage Action first launched the comment portal in mid April, reaching out to Americans through various digital platforms to generate record levels of engagement in the first 48 hours post-launch. Since the initial push, Heritage has teamed up with other conservative partners to multiply the outreach efforts. Pursuant to the federal rulemaking process, Americans have until May 17 to submit a comment.
Dr. Lindsey Burke, director of the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, commended activists’ efforts and condemned the Biden administration’s trillion-dollar debt transfer plan, saying:
“As we watch far-Left, pro-Hamas protestors siege American university campuses, it's clearer than ever that rewarding entitled college students with debt amnesty is a bad idea. Add this to the many reasons debt cancellation is bad policy: It's regressive, providing more of a benefit to upper income earners, it's unfair, forcing the vast majority of Americans who have neither a college degree nor student loan debt to assume someone else's loan, it's inflationary on the price of college, and the Supreme Court has said previous attempts were unlawful.
“Student loan debt amnesty creates all the wrong incentives. Borrowers and borrowers alone are responsible for repaying their debts. They agreed to do so when they signed on the dotted line taking out the loan. The truck driver in Des Moines, the waitress in Atlanta, and the service member in San Diego did not take out the loan for a master's degree in gender studies. They should not be made to pay for someone else's bad decision—as evidenced by the fact their degree has a poor enough ROI they claim they can't repay their loan.”
Heritage Action’s work to activate Americans will be complemented by an upcoming billboard campaign led by The Heritage Foundation. The messaging, which will also encourage comment submission, will potentially reach millions of Americans on billboards in 11 states across the country.
BACKGROUND:
Since taking office, President Biden has made several attempts to undermine the law and punish taxpayers in the name of student loan “forgiveness.” While the initial student loan cancellation scheme Biden announced in August 2022 was found unlawful by the Supreme Court, Biden and his administration do not give up easily in their fight to use unconstitutional executive overreach and taxpayer dollars to pay voters in an election year.
The big lie of student-loan “forgiveness” is that debt can be forgiven—it can only be transferred, not erased. The result is a financially unsustainable cycle where tuition rates skyrocket, debt spirals, college graduates advocate for special treatment, and the government hands taxpayers the bill.
The vast majority of Americans did not attend college—and 87% do not have student loans. Two-thirds of debt holders who would benefit from the Biden plan are in the top 60% of all earners in the country. Meanwhile, more than 75% of Americans oppose Biden’s plans if they add to inflation and 64% oppose if they would raise taxes.
Heritage Action: Cancel Biden’s Student Loan Bailout
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The Heritage Foundation: Student Loan Forgiveness Scheme Unlawful
The Heritage Foundation: End Student Loan Forgiveness