OPINION:
The Biden-Harris administration continues to attempt its student loan bailout scheme in defiance of rebukes from the federal courts, including the Supreme Court. Most recently, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona instructed lenders to cancel more than $100 billion of debt before the department could implement its regulation.
This is on top of the $167 billion the Biden-Harris administration has already transferred to taxpayers.
The stealth bailout directive is almost surely an attempt to evade judicial review long enough to effect a giveaway for the administration’s favored constituencies before the election. This debt cancellation will give more students incentive to take out college loans with meager career benefits, thinking taxpayers will foot the bill.
There is a better way forward that doesn’t saddle taxpayers with endless debt and exacerbates the problem it seeks to solve. It requires us to rethink our current college funding programs for young Americans from lower-income families. It’s called the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act.
Most high school graduates are steered to a binary career choice: They can go to college or right into the workforce. The latter is a tough road that often results in a lower income throughout their careers. The former is expensive and often yields subpar career results, especially for specific undergraduate majors and graduate degrees.
Families with graduating seniors often overlook a third option: career and technical education, including industry-aligned certification and skills training. Many short-term programs enable students to begin a high-paying job immediately rather than lingering in an education program with a low or even negative return on investment.
The problem is that this third educational option is excluded from our national postsecondary grant program, the Pell Grant. Students from lower-income families who want to attend a four-year college are eligible for tens of thousands of dollars in government support, even for fields that might not lead to lucrative careers. But those who want to train in patient care, learn cybersecurity or study advanced machining in a short-term workforce training program are locked out.
Thankfully, Congress is advancing a solution to the problem that has driven so many students into college debt that they can’t repay. The Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act would extend Pell Grants to high-quality workforce training programs that lead to high-paying careers that do not require a college degree.
The Biden-Harris administration’s attempt to “forgive” billions of dollars of student loan debt is not generous because other taxpayers end up footing the bill. Colleges should provide value to students and our nation, not use them as revenue streams to inflate their budgets.
Transferring loan debt to taxpayers encourages universities to raise tuition, which creates yet more student debt in the future — and another burden that may one day be imposed upon taxpayers. Workforce Pell Grants would create a viable no-debt option for millions of American students and help close the skills gap in critical industries such as health care, software and manufacturing.
Workers without a college education are essential to our economy and society, and millions of young Americans have found their calling in these roles. Certified nursing assistants, for example, provide critical care and support in hospitals and nursing homes. A CNA program can be completed in less than one semester, providing the medical system with high-demand specialists. Workforce Pell would pay the way for tens of thousands of Americans short on funds to become CNAs. This is equally true for carpenters, skilled manufacturing workers, software programmers and countless other professions.
Providing noncollege options is better than herding every student onto a four-year campus. College has gotten so expensive because of tuition increases and aggressive student recruitment. When students have easy access to loans, universities can raise tuition, knowing that students can borrow more to cover the cost. Without accountability, they have less incentive to deliver value. This reckless lending increases student debt while colleges pocket the difference, and taxpayers are now forced to shoulder the burden of others’ debts.
In the upcoming legislative session, Congress can pass the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act and provide an effective alternative to reckless college spending and lending. Instead of pushing the problem of some students’ debts onto the rest of us, as the Biden-Harris administration proposes, we can provide a better way for young Americans to enter their preferred career path without burdening them — or taxpayers — with student debt.
• Andrew Cuff is a senior policy analyst for the Higher Education Reform Initiative at the America First Policy Institute. Scott Singer is mayor of Boca Raton, Florida, and a senior adviser to the institute.
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