SALT LAKE CITY — In a letter addressed to President Joe Biden, Utah's Governor Spencer Cox, along with 21 other governors across the nation, called on the student loan forgiveness plan to be withdrawn "immediately."
Biden announced his plan at the end of August to forgive up to $20,000 worth of student loan debt for borrowers who received Pell Grants and up to $10,000 for students who did not receive Pell Grants.
Governors from Utah, Iowa, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming states signed a joint letter, dated Monday, opposing the plan.
They say the debt relief will harm lower-income families and make problems even worse for future students.
"A high-cost degree is not the key to unlocking the American Dream—hard work and personal responsibility is," the letter says in part. "For many borrowers, they worked hard, made sacrifices, and paid off their debt. For many others, they chose hard work and a paycheck rather than more school and a loan. Americans who did not choose to take out student loans themselves should certainly not be forced to pay for the student loans of others."
The letter calls on the president to "withdraw [his] student loan plan immediately."
"At a time when inflation is sky high due to your unprecedented tax-and-spend agenda, your plan will encourage more student borrowing, incentivize higher tuition rates, and drive-up inflation even further, negatively impacting every American," the governors said in part.
