'It's a handout': Roy Blunt, Eric Schmitt criticize President Biden's student debt forgiveness plan

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt and the Republican aiming to succeed him in Washington criticized President Joe Biden's plan for student loan forgiveness Wednesday.

The administration's long-awaited policy will relieve up to $20,000 in debt for Pell Grant recipients, and $10,000 for many other borrowers who earn less than $125,000 annually. Biden also announced that repayment of undergraduate loans will be capped at 5 percent of the borrower's monthly income. Student loan payments will resume Jan. 1, 2023, after the administration extended the pandemic-era pause for a final time.

In remarks Wednesday afternoon, Biden outlined his proposal and pushed back on a wave of swift criticism from leaders across the aisle — pointing to Republicans' support of tax cuts under former President Donald Trump's administration.

"I will never apologize ever helping working Americans in the middle class, especially not to the same folks who voted for a $2 trillion tax cut that mainly benefitted the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations," Biden said. "The outrage over helping working people with student loans, I think, is just simply wrong."

Student loan forgiveness: Biden cancels as much as $20K in student loan debt

Blunt, who serves as chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee and will retire in January, called the plan a "one-two punch for hardworking Americans" in a statement.

"It’s a handout for high-income college and advanced degree graduates paid for by taxpayers who had no part in taking out these loans," Blunt said. "And, it will drive inflation up even further when families are already struggling with skyrocketing costs."

A graduate and former president of Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Blunt said he understood "how valuable higher education is," and urged for alternative paths to make it more affordable.

"We could fund Pell Grants for more than a decade at the cost of the administration’s misguided proposal," he said. "The president’s plan not only rewards high-income earners, it will increase the cost of higher education, making it harder for low-income students to pursue a degree. Americans need relief from the economic strain they are facing, not another politically-driven policy that benefits the wealthy at the expense of those who can least afford it."

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Attorney General Eric Schmitt, the Republican nominee to replace Blunt in November, targeted Ivy League schools on Twitter in response to the plan.

"Harvard & Yale should liquidate their endowments if the elites are serious about 'forgiving' student loan debt," Schmitt wrote. "Why should the truck driver pay for the Ivy League Doctor's unpaid debt? This shouldn't be working folks' burden. The Democrats are the party of, by and for the elites."

Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com, (573) 219-7440 or on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Schmitt, Blunt criticize Biden's student debt forgiveness plan