Tim Ryan says he prefers tax cuts over student loan debt forgiveness

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) on Sunday said he supports a broader package of debt relief and a tax cut “for all working people” over the student loan forgiveness plan announced by President Biden.

Ryan, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” that a “targeted” measure helping only those with student loan debt “sends the wrong message” since a lot of Americans are struggling.

“There’s a lot of people out there making 30, 40 grand a year that didn’t go to college. And they need help as well, which is why I’ve been proposing a tax cut for working people that will affect everybody,” he said. “With the student loan piece [in my proposal], you could very easily allow them to negotiate — renegotiate down the interest rates.”

Biden announced last week he would forgive up to $10,000 in student loan debt for those who make under $125,000 a year and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients.

The move was hailed by most Democrats, who have long pushed for the relief as the cost of college has soared.

Ryan on Sunday agreed the cost of college is “outrageous” but pointed out the Biden administration has no plan to tackle rising costs, meaning another generation would also struggle with student loan debt if nothing is done to fix the system.

“One of the stupidest things we’ve ever done in this country is tell everybody they have to go to college. I mean, that was a huge mistake,” Ryan told CNN. “And so here we are, and we’ve done nothing to control the cost of college, right? So we’re going to be in the same position here in five years.”