Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) revealed earlier in September that a major reason why she decided to run for Congress was to help pass legislation that would eliminate her own student debt burden.
“I am one of 45 million [Americans who owe student debt] and it has been part of my journey and one of the reasons that drove me to run for office,” Omar said while appearing on a BET News Town Hall. “I also have a daughter — not only do I have student debt, but I have a daughter that is going to college in two years and so the realness of this burden that we all feel shackled with has been real for me.”
Omar introduced legislation in June that would cancel upward of $1.6 trillion in student debt, forgiving outstanding federal and private student loans. If passed, the Student Debt Cancellation Act of 2019 is estimated to cost taxpayers $2.2 trillion over a decade. – READ MORE