(Congressional Agenda) – Republican members of the House are now calling on the Office of Government Ethics to launch an investigation into potential conflicts of interest in the White House after the Biden administration started to consider the possibility of loan forgiveness for federal borrowers.
Gee, could it be that folks in Biden’s administration are simply looking for ways to take advantage of their connection to the current occupant of the Oval Office under the guise of doing something for others?
Could the government be so underhanded?
I think you already know the answer to that one.
According to a report from the good people over at WND, there are currently more than two dozen senior White House staffers that have student loan debt, according to data culled from 2021 financial disclosures that were obtained by Bloomberg News. The total cash value of the debt is $4.7 million. That’s a rather hefty sum.
“The idea that Biden staffers may be using their positions inside the administration to push the president to use taxpayer dollars on loan forgiveness that may directly benefit them is beyond troubling,” Pete McGinnis, the spokesman for the Functional Government Initiative, which is a federal watchdog investigating abuse in government, went on to say during an interview with The Daily Caller News Foundation. “It’s exactly the type of insider dealing and government dysfunction that Americans are fed up with.”
Republicans in the House are now demanding an ethics probe concerning potential conflicts of interest among White House staffers — and members of their families — who might benefit from student loan forgiveness, which is a policy the current administration is mulling over.
“Political appointees are ‘presumably’ included in the loan forgiveness program President Joe Biden “is planning to undertake,” Sens. James Comer of Kentucky and Virginia Foxx of North Carolina say. There must be an investigation into the finances of Biden administration employees, the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Director Emory Rounds III Wednesday,” the report from WND states.
“In addition to the substantial and negative ramifications of this illegal action, we are especially concerned that this policy may have been promulgated by White House staffers who stand to financially benefit from the decision, especially considering recent reports that White House political appointees owe millions in student loan debt,” the Republicans went on to say.
“The administration is now considering a plan to wipe away $10,000 per borrower, if not more, The Washington Post reported. The plan would apply to individuals who earned fewer than $150,000 in the prior year and married couples filing jointly who made fewer than $300,000, two sources familiar with the matter told the Post,” WND reported.
Biden has stated that he’s “not considering” $50,000 worth in “debt reduction” last Thursday during a speech he delivered at the White House. However, he did say that he is “in the process of taking a hard look at whether or not there will be additional debt forgiveness.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has also been continuing to apply pressure to Biden to erase $50,000 worth of student loan debt.
“There are more than two dozen senior White House staffers who have student loan debt, according to 2021 financial disclosures Bloomberg News obtained from OGE in May. Combined, the staffers owe up to $4.7 million, the outlet reported,” WND stated.
Among the list of staffers who have student debt are big names like White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Economic Council Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti, according to the report published by Bloomberg News. Keep in mind, however, that not all former and current members of the staff have filed disclosures.
“The last thing that hardworking taxpayers in this country should be doing is footing the $4.7 million student loan bill for political appointees in the Biden White House,” Foxx said to TheDCNF. “When these men and women took out their student loans, they signed on the dotted line and made a commitment that the money would be repaid — there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”
“The Republicans are asking OGE to provide them by June 29 with a list of all Biden administration employees who have worked on student loan forgiveness policy, as well as documents and communications ‘indicating’ which employees have debt that the policy would wave away. They are also asking for signed ethics waiver copies for employees who have worked on the Biden administration’s forgiveness policy,” the WND report stated.
“The idea that Biden staffers may be using their positions inside the administration to push the president to use taxpayer dollars on loan forgiveness that may directly benefit them is beyond troubling,” Pete McGinnis, the spokesman for the Functional Government Initiative, a federal watchdog looking into abuse by the American government, stated during an interview with The DCNF. “It’s exactly the type of insider dealing and government dysfunction that Americans are fed up with.”
Yes, the average American is most definitely fed up with this kind of garbage. Politicians and those who work for them are always trying their hardest to look out for themselves, creating policies that benefit their own agenda, meanwhile the average citizen is forced to pick up the tab.
To the left, we’re just numbers on a paycheck.
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