LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — President Joe Biden shared his long-awaited plan for tackling massive student debt in the country on Wednesday, which will impact roughly 43 million Americans with an average loan balance of just over $37,000, according to experts.
The plan centers around the promise that the president made during his campaign where he vowed to provide $10,000 in debt cancellation for millions of Americans. Furthermore, the plan provides up to $20,000 in cancelation for Americans that have taken out Pell Grants.
Following the announcement of President Biden's plan, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton shared his thoughts on the president's initiative, calling it a "bailout."
"There is no such thing as student loan forgiveness—this is a bailout, paid for by the large majority of Americans who never went to college or who responsibly paid off their debts," Cotton said.
Cotton continued in his disapproval for Biden's plan online and pointed at colleges being the "culprit" for the large amounts of debt that millions of Americans face. He also shared that he will instead introduce a bill to hold colleges "accountable."
"President Biden’s plan ignores the true culprit: bloated, self-serving colleges. I’ll be introducing a bill to hold these colleges accountable for debt, lower tuition, support non-college career paths, and save the taxpayers billions," Cotton said.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson also took to the internet to share a statement addressing the president's decision.
"Broad student loan 'forgiveness' is a misuse of executive authority. Shifting the burden from those who willingly took out a loan to all taxpayers is inconsistent with the American ideal of personal responsibility and will further discourage those who took a different path, including work or lower-cost schools," Hutchinson said.
Arkansas Sen. John Boozman also spoke on Biden's plan and echoed Cotton's thoughts, posting online that the president's plan is an "insult to taxpayers."
"Pres. Biden's move to 'forgive' student loans is a gift to his political base and an insult to taxpayers and everyone who fulfilled their obligations. Americans already struggling to keep up will bear the consequences of this irresponsible decision benefiting high-income earners," Sen. Boozman said.
Congressman Rick Crawford said Biden's plan "makes suckers out of millions of middle class American" who already paid their student loans off.
Governor Asa Hutchinson called the decision a "misuse of executive authority" and suggested that if Biden wanted to give relief to people "he could work to permanently lower interest rates" instead of student loan forgiveness.
Biden's plan is eligible for Americans who make less than $125,000 annually and families making less than $250,000 annually. The president also shared that he will be extending the federal student loan payment pause until the end of 2022.
We will update this article with statements from other Arkansas politicians.