On Tuesday’s “CNN Newsroom,” White House Senior Adviser for Public Engagement Keisha Lance Bottoms responded to the Congressional Budget Office’s $400 billion cost projection for President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan and how the administration will pay for it by saying that the deficit has already been reduced and questioning the accuracy of the CBO estimate. Bottoms also stated that the White House is still working on crunching the numbers on the plan.
Host Erica Hill asked, “[W]e got this finding from the Congressional Budget Office, an estimated $400 billion price tag — if there’s no offset, cut, or tax increase — to the President’s plan for student loan forgiveness. What’s the plan to pay for that?”
Bottoms responded, “Well, we have to remember, Erica, that, under President Biden’s leadership, our deficit has been reduced by record numbers already, $350 billion last year. We are on track for a $1 trillion reduction. And also, these estimates, from my understanding, were based on the assumption of 90% of the eligible borrowers taking advantage of this program. We know that that’s usually not the case. It’s not normally that high. But at the end of the day, this is about helping everyday working people. … The President and our team have been very thoughtful about rolling out this plan and making sure that our budget could accommodate it.”
Hill then asked, “So, you’re saying you’re sure the budget can accommodate it. This score, again, that we got yesterday from the CBO, you would say that’s based on 90%. I know, initially, when this plan was announced, when we were pushing for those numbers, the White House said, well, we have to see how many people actually sign up. In terms of being thoughtful of this plan, did the White House really work through all of these numbers? What if it does end up being $400 billion?”
Bottoms answered, “Well, the White House was very thoughtful and will continue to be very thoughtful. And you have to remember, this is not a one-time hit. This will be absorbed over many years, and, again, when we look at the record reduction in the deficit under the Biden administration, we know that this reduction in the deficit in the trillions of dollars will help significantly towards passing on these savings to everyday working people.”
Hill then asked, “When will we have those? I know the White House is still working on some of its numbers…when are we going to have those numbers?”
Bottoms responded, “Well, the White House is continuing to work on all of the details of this. We will have a rollout in a few weeks to make sure that people can go into the portal and they can apply for this relief. We have to remember, this is not automatic relief. So, we don’t expect that all 40 million eligible borrowers will take advantage of this. They will have to go in and apply for this relief. And we know, with other programs that the government has rolled out, we have not seen numbers near 90%. It will be very surprising if those numbers are near 90%. But we certainly are prepared for that, and it’s our hope that as many people as possible…who will have the chance to have their debt completely wiped out will take advantage of this program.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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