Veterans' Compensation Cost-Of-Living Adjustment Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, earlier this week, myself, Senator Cassidy, and Senator Cornyn, along with 35 of our Republican colleagues, introduced an effort to block President Biden's plan to transfer student loan debt onto the back of hard-working Americans. This includes ending the pause on student loan payments, which has been extended six times since the start of the pandemic.

What might seem like a ``free pass'' in making payments on student loans is, actually, a scheme orchestrated by the Biden administration that could cost taxpayers an estimated $900 billion.

Let's break it down: $400 billion to cancel student loan debt, $195 billion to pause loan payments and interest accrued during the pandemic, and $200 billion to implement President Biden's loan repayment rule.

Folks, $900 billion is more than the Federal Government has ever spent on higher education in our Nation's history. To give you some additional perspective, this radical proposal costs--get this, folks-- three times more than what the government will spend on Pell grants in this decade--in this decade--a program designed to help our neediest students.

This is not debt cancellation. It is socialism.

President Biden is rewarding those who chose the path of higher education by strapping their debt onto the backs of those who did not.

This is a personal issue to me.

My brother chose to enter the workforce directly out of high school. My brother is a hard-working union laborer.

My sister worked to put herself through community college. She received an associate's degree in Southwest Iowa. She works for a trucking company and farms.

Their stories are similar to many Iowans across my home State. Why should countless Americans who made responsible, financial planning decisions be forced to take on the debts of others?

Biden's plan is unfair and unaffordable. It is fanning the flames of inflation and is a driving factor in our growing Federal debt. Most importantly, this transfer of student loan debt does nothing to address and may actually be contributing to the real issue of rising costs to attend college.

What message does this send to veterans who pursue higher education through the GI bill or medical professionals who joined the National Health Service Corps?

I was able to cover a portion of my college tuition at Iowa State University through an ROTC scholarship. Joining the Army after graduation was a privilege and an honor. I made a commitment to my country, and, in return, they made a commitment to me to help me receive my college degree.

President Biden's radical proposal invalidates many other successful loan forgiveness and repayment programs designed to incentivize participation in critical fields, including the military, public service, and medicine.

Instead of putting a bandaid on the problem and passing the buck, we should be giving students and their families a clear picture up front about the true costs associated with their education. That is why I am working in a bipartisan way to ensure that students know, before they take out a loan, the estimated total interest amount based on their repayment plan.

Folks, we have warned for years that the left is on the march toward socialism. Look no further than Biden's student debt transfer plan.

I am proud to join my Republican colleagues in working to stop this scheme.

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