The $300 billion student loan handout will be a boon to President Biden’s administration. The president announced Wednesday that the federal government will absorb $10,000 of student debt from Americans earning less than $125,000 per year or households earning less than $250,000.
Many Biden administration officials that fall below the salary threshold to receive the student loan handout do not have outstanding loans.
Inside Biden’s Basement, a watchdog organization, identified at most 12 West Wing employees who could be eligible for the Biden handout.
Chris Meagher and Claudia Chavez, Hee Jung Shim, John McCarthy and Justin Oswald all earn below the salary threshold and have outstanding debts so they would benefit from Biden’s handout.
According to Inside Biden’s Basement, although almost 300 White House employees have not yet made financial disclosures, 336 of 474 officials earn less than $125,000 per year.
However, the employees who have not disclosed are likely to be lower-ranking White House employees who filed confidential form 450s which are not legal.
Inside Biden’s Basement numbers don’t include agency employees, which are their own 175-person behemoth.
“Just at White House, almost 71%, or 336 White House officials, earn below the $125,000 threshold. Potentially even more could be eligible for the household income cap. Hollie said that by counting the agencies, Inside Biden’s Basement identified more than 200 officials who could be eligible for the Biden handout on behalf of taxpayers.
He said that despite the fact that federal agencies and the White House have not made available hundreds of financial disclosures revealing potential student loan debt, it was still shocking to see how many Biden officials would be able to take advantage of today’s EO. “And those who have saved, scraped, and sacrificed their money to pay off their debts or avoided taking out loans altogether will foot the bill, as well as those who didn’t go to college, but still have to deal the record-high inflation and recession-laden economic environment.”
Andrew Bates, White House spokesperson, told Fox News Digital that he was not familiar with Inside Biden’s Basement. He called it a “club” and said “the relief the President just delivered applies equally to all Americans regardless of their workplace.”
He said, “This is the opposite of the 2017 tax giveaway by the Republicans to the wealthy, which 85% went to people earning over $75,000.”
Biden’s proposal for a student loan handout was announced Wednesday. This marks the first time that the president has followed through on a campaign promise.
Experts warn that student debt forgiveness could lead to a negative effect on the economy, and it may only benefit those who are more financially secure.
After years of ballooning, the nation’s federal student loan now exceeds $1.6 trillion. Federal student debt now exceeds 43 million Americans. Nearly a third owe less than $10,000, and half owe less than $20,000 according to federal data.
Biden announced that his administration would forgive student loan debts up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients and $10,000 for those who didn’t receive Pell Grants. Biden stated that the forgiveness is only available to those with a net income of less than $125,000.
