August 26, 2022

Friends,

I hope you and your family are well! I wanted to provide you with a few updates regarding what’s going on –

Joe Biden's Student Loan "Forgiveness"

This week, President Biden announced he will cancel $10,000 of federal student loan debt for certain borrowers making less than $125,000 per year and up to $20,000 of loan debt for Pell grant recipients, which will cost American taxpayers around $300,000,000,000.

87% of Americans do not have student loans. How is it fair to force the 87% who never took out student debt or who worked hard to pay off their debt to spend billions of dollars of their hard-earned money to “forgive” the rest of America’s student loans?

Joe Biden's student loan “forgiveness” plan is a slap in the face to the middle class and the American taxpayers who worked hard to pay off their loans or pay their way through college. There is no such thing as "free lunch,” and it is not the taxpayer's responsibility to pay for someone else's debt. 

There is no such thing as student loan forgiveness because student debt doesn’t disappear—it’s just transferred to the 87% of Americans who do not have student loans. A welder in Anderson, South Carolina should not have to pay for a Ph.D. candidate in New York City's student debt. Period.

What about those who made sacrifices for their education and worked hard and did without to pay off their debt, or the parent who worked two jobs to send their kids to college, or the students who saved up, worked side jobs, and earned scholarships to pay their way through school? In Joe Biden’s America, handouts are incentivized over hard work. Hardworking, middle class Americans will pay for this through increased inflation and taxation, and in the long run, this will cause the cost of college to increase even more.

This is unfair to taxpayers and millions who never went to college, unfair to American taxpayers struggling financially, and unfair to future students who will face an inflated cost for college. Not to mention, 73% of the benefits will go to households in the top 60% of earners, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model.

In Joe Biden's America, a mechanic making a living without a college degree pays for the student loans of the barista with a Master's in "gender studies." This is a continuation of Joe Biden’s war on the hardworking middle class. If you think taxes and inflation are out-of-control now, just wait until we’re paying off around $300 billion in student loan “forgiveness,” on top of sending billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine and the Democrats’ “Inflation Expansion Act” socialist wish list.

Joe Biden does not have the authority to impose student loan debt on American taxpayers, much less $300 BILLION worth. Even Nancy Pelosi said it herself last year that the President does not have the power for debt forgiveness. This is an illegal overstep of federal authority and the Democrats’ way to buy votes with your money. I am infuriated at the thought of Americans having to pay their hard-earned dollars for someone else’s degree and will do all I can in Congress to fight back against this.

Debunking the PPP Loan and Student Debt "Forgiveness" Myths

To those gaslighting Republicans about PPP loans (Paycheck Protection Program loans that helped businesses keep their employees during COVID) and student loan "forgiveness," let me give you a few reasons why these two things are completely different:

1) PPP loans were legally authorized and funded by Congress and signed into law by the President. Student loan “forgiveness” was unilaterally enacted by President Biden using the HEROES Act (intended for our service members).
2) PPP gave businesses money after the government forced them to shut their businesses down and their employees couldn’t go to work. Student loan “forgiveness” transfers a debt the borrower voluntarily agreed to pay to an unwilling party (the American taxpayer).
3) PPP loans were intended to be forgiven. A student loan was meant to be paid over time by the borrower. In both cases, those were the terms of the promissory note.
 
Granted, the PPP loan forgiveness program was abused in some cases, but these two things are unequivocally different. Period. It’s comparing apples and oranges. If you do not see the difference between these two things, you have either not done your research or are propagating lies to sugarcoat what the Biden Administration is doing.  

Standing for Medical Freedom in the Military

There is no reason our nation’s military should have to choose between serving their country and getting the COVID shot. Far too many of our servicemembers have been forced out of service already for this personal medical decision. Now, the military is struggling to reach its recruitment goals in the wake of the COVID vaccine mandates, and the U.S. Army is expected to fall 19,000 soldiers short of its target for fiscal year 2022. This is why we are calling on the Department of Defense to end its COVID vaccine mandate in light of the CDC loosening its guidance for the unvaccinated. I will not stop pushing the Biden Administration to let all Americans, especially our nation’s military, have autonomy when it comes to receiving the COVID shot. Click HERE for more on this. 

Remembering our Fallen Heroes in Afghanistan

A year ago today, we lost 13 American heroes in Kabul due to the Biden Administration's failed leadership and chaotic, poorly executed withdrawal from Afghanistan. We honor the memory of these fallen heroes and know their service was not in vain. God bless their families.

We are still fighting to hold the Biden Administration accountable for their catastrophic withdrawal and foreign policy failure in Afghanistan that led to the loss of life and leaving behind an untold number of Americans and our allies. 

Fentanyl Awareness Day

Sunday was National Fentanyl Awareness and Prevention Day and we remember the loved ones of those we have tragically lost to fentanyl overdoses. One pill can kill. We must pass the HALT Fentanyl Act to give law enforcement the tools they need to stop fentanyl-related substances from crossing the border, infiltrating our communities, and poisoning our children.

In the District

Over the next five years, Impact Housing Group is investing $30 million into Oconee County and will create around 215 jobs. The company manufactures modular homes and will build the 140,000-square foot Oconee Industry and Technology Park (OITP) complex.

Sunny Days Entertainment, LLC, a leading producer of children's toys, announced this week it is moving corporate headquarters to Laurens County and will create around 80 new jobs in the area.

95-year-old Estella Williams "unretired" after one month of retirement to return to doing one of the things she loves: being a crossing guard at Westside High School in Anderson. 

It is an honor to serve the Third District of South Carolina. Should you or your family need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact my office directly.