Representative Glenn Grothman

What's Ahead

1. My Letter to President Biden on Student Loan Forgiveness.

2. Another Broken Record at the Border.

3. Weekly Roundup.

4. My Contact Information.

The Dangers of Student Loan Forgiveness

At the outset of the COVID pandemic, student loan borrowers were granted a temporary pause on their payments. Since President Biden took office, however, the payment pause has received continuous extensions with seemingly no end in sight. Recently, Biden said he is considering dealing with some student loan debt reduction and expects to decide on full or partial loan forgiveness “in the next couple of weeks”.

First, I’ll point out that the Executive Branch lacks the authority to unilaterally forgive federal student loan debt.

The second point deals with the topic of inflation. As President Biden contemplates student loan relief, inflation is weakening the dollar at a rate of more than 8 percent over the past year, a level not seen in over 40 years. Forgiving even $10,000 in debt per borrower would cost taxpayers roughly $373 billion. This means that the deficit and debt will grow, increasing the incentive for the government to print more money, which decreases the value of the dollar.

Third, student loan forgiveness would disproportionately benefit the wealthy over low-income Americans. Wealthy students are more likely to attend college and thus, more likely to hold student loan debt. Nearly 60 percent of all student loan debt is held by the rich and upper-middle class. So, by forgiving student loan debt, we would be handing the wealthy a financial windfall while low income Americans suffer further from inflation and rising costs.

Along with 22 of my colleagues, I authored a letter warning President Joe Biden of the dire consequences of such a backward policy that he lacks the authority to issue.

Click either image to read the full text of the letter

Another Broken Record at the Border

Since President Biden took office, I have used my voice to speak out against his disastrous immigration policies that have thrown the Southern border into chaos. Through my experiences visiting the border, I can say with confidence this crisis has been severely underpublicized.

This week, we received news that an estimated 234,088 illegal migrants were encountered at the Southwest border in April, the highest monthly total in the history of the Department of Homeland Security. This record number of encounters represents an increase of over 1,200% from April 2020, when this number was 17,106.

Cartels are weaponizing our porous border to profit off human smuggling and drug trafficking. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials tell me that they are seeing not just migrants from Mexico and Northern Triangle countries, but people from over 140 different countries attempting to come into this country illegally, which is severely threatening our national security. With the massive influx of migrants illegally crossing the border, agents are overwhelmed and in need of assistance from Washington.

Despite this historic crisis, President Biden has yet to visit the Southern border and has signaled no serious effort to secure it. Instead, he continues to undermine the integrity of our legal immigration system with his lack of action, which encourages lawlessness along the border. With Title 42 set to expire next week, CBP is expecting even more illegal migrants and deadly drugs to arrive at the border.

The utter lack of control along our own border is a serious problem. We need leaders who will encourage people to immigrate to the United States safely and legally, with policies that back it up. I will continue to try to work in a bipartisan manner with my colleagues in Washington to prioritize the safety of communities throughout the United States, increase resources and staffing for CBP, and decrease the surge of illegal drugs crossing the border by way of the cartels.

Weekly Roundup

It was an honor to celebrate the retirement of Neenah Mayor Dean Kaufert. Thank you for your nearly 40 years of dedication to the health and safety of Neenah.

Today is Armed Forces Day! May we thank our valiant service members who protect our great nation every day.

Thank you to Wisconsin members of the Alzheimer's Association for coming to meet with me in DC. I’m ready to help Alzheimer’s patients fight this devastating disease.

Click the image above for more information

May is National Military Appreciation Month! Thank you to the courageous men and women in every branch of our military who sacrifice so much to defend our freedom.

It is always great to meet with the Wisconsin Health Care Association and the Wisconsin Center for Assisted Living! This week, we discussed issues that impact Wisconsin’s nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

I was glad to have the opportunity to meet with Wisconsin employees of Versiti Organ and Tissue Donation Blood Center regarding the importance of organ and tissue donation.

It was my pleasure to join the Prairie Ridge Health Foundation for their “Toast & Tastes” fundraiser for more life-saving equipment in Columbus.

Contact Me

As your Congressman, I’m here to serve you. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to my offices in Fond du Lac and Washington. If you enjoyed this newsletter be sure to forward it to your family and friends so they can stay informed on what I’m doing in Washington and the Sixth District.

You can also stay up-to-the-minute by following me on Facebook (Congressman Glenn Grothman), Twitter (@RepGrothman) and Instagram (@RepGlennGrothman).

Sincerely,

Glenn Grothman
Member of Congress