Politifact to Rep. Kooyenga: Federal Government Doesn’t Refinance Student Loans

MADISON, Wis. — Media have debunked another false charge by Wisconsin Republicans blocking the Higher Ed, Lower Debt bill which could allow many of the state’s one million student loan borrowers the chance to refinance their loans at lower rates, just like you can a mortgage. The latest involves GOP Rep. Dale Kooyenga, who claimed “A lot of student loans are already refinanced by the federal government,” a charge with Politifact Wisconsin today rated “false.”

“Dale Kooyegna, Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican legislature have ducked, dodged and distorted the truth about the student loan debt crisis in Wisconsin,” said Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director. “But the hardworking one million student loan borrowers in Wisconsin know the truth: Republicans are single-handedly blocking them from being able to refinance their loans, just like you can a mortgage.”

Currently, Gov. Walker is in the midst a taxpayer-funded image rehabilitation tour across Wisconsin, where he has called for a series of measures, such as more free labor for business, as a cure to the $19 billion-plus student loan debt crisis in Wisconsin. None of the measures Walker and the Republicans are promoting would help any student loan borrower in the state reduce their monthly payments by one penny.

“Democrats are offering borrowers the ability to refinance their loans, at no cost to the state, to jump start the failed Walker economy and help hundreds of thousands of borrowers achieve their piece of the American Dream,” said Ross. “Gov. Walker and the Republicans are offering more debt and more despair for student loan borrowers.”

The full Politifact Wisconsin piece, including additional comment from Kooyenga showing how little the head of the self-titled “CPA Caucus” understands about the student loan crisis is available at http://bit.ly/politifact-kooyenga-studentloandebt.

More information about the student loan debt crisis, including comprehensive groundbreaking research from One Wisconsin Now & One Wisconsin Institute, can be found at OneWisconsinNow.org/StudentLoanDebt.