Colleges that may benefit from Biden student loan handout have spent over $130 million on lobbying since 2021

Some of the nation’s top universities and colleges may benefit from President Joe Biden’s $300 billion student loan debt handout, after reports reveal they have spent millions lobbying for education policies, including student loan handouts.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced a plan to cancel $10,000 of student loan debt for low- and middle-income American families. Analysis from the Penn Wharton Budget Model reported that this could result in a $300-$900 billion increase in taxes over the next few years.

According to OpenSecrets, more than $130 million has been spent lobbying on education policies since 2021 by numerous prominent colleges. The colleges may profit from a decrease in student loan defaults, and some benefits of the handout for student loans “might be captured by colleges themselves in the form of higher prices (both tuition and net),” the Wharton study stated.

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If the government is paying for student tuition rather than addressing the high costs of education, universities could maintain or even raise their already high tuition rates. The Biden administration in its announcement Wednesday said it would hold colleges accountable for tuition hikes.

Education is a large expense for young adults trying to pay their way through school, and the student loan debt crisis puts pressure on universities to lower prices.

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Among the top lobbying colleges, according to OpenSecrets, is Association of American Medical Colleges, which spent $1,964,000 lobbying the government on various initiatives. The issues included Public Service Loan Forgiveness; Student Loan Forgiveness for Frontline Health Workers Act to support loan forgiveness for COVID-19 health workers; the Student Loan Tax Elimination Act, which would eliminate of origination fees on federal student loans; and the Build Back Better Act.

In 2022, the University of California spent $840,000 and California State University spent $534,000 on federal lobbying activities, while the University of Colorado and University of Pittsburgh both spent more than $400,000. Harvard University spent $290,000 lobbying on education issues in 2022, and Yale University spent $280,000 so far this year.

A Wednesday press release from the White House announcing the student loan handout plan stated: “According to a Department of Education analysis, the typical undergraduate student with loans now graduates with nearly $25,000 in debt.”

“The skyrocketing cumulative federal student loan debt — $1.6 trillion and rising for more than 45 million borrowers — is a significant burden on America’s middle class.”

A 2017 study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York suggests that an increase in federal aid to students results in higher tuition rates from the university, meaning Biden’s plan may reduce federal student debt but raise tuition rates nationally.

Former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway reacted to the plan, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Tuesday: “It’s not fair to the welders, the carpenters, the hairdressers, the people who chose to not go to college or who couldn’t afford to stay in college. It’s not fair for them. It’s also not fair for the people who have paid off their student loans because they have made personal financial sacrifices to allow them to do that.”

The new plan from Biden comes just two months before the midterm elections in November, as Democrats are hoping to receive more support and votes from younger voters.