Article Summary –
Wisconsin Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde criticized President Joe Biden’s plan for student loan debt forgiveness, describing it as “unfair” and “vote buying.” However, Hovde, as CEO of Sunwest Bank, supported and profited from a pandemic relief law signed by former President Donald Trump in 2020, which provided forgivable loans to businesses. Under his leadership, the bank made 3,664 loans under the Paycheck Protection Program totaling $906.2 million, which likely resulted in more than $9 million in fees paid to his bank.
Wisconsin Republican Senate Candidate Hovde Attacks Biden’s Student Loan Relief Plan
Republican U.S. Senate candidate for Wisconsin, Eric Hovde, is criticizing President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive student loan debt, labeling it “patently unfair” and “vote buying” in a tweet. Interestingly, as chairman and CEO of Sunwest Bank, Hovde endorsed the 2020 pandemic relief law sanctioned by President Donald Trump, which provided forgivable loans to businesses.
Biden announced on April 8 in Madison that his administration would widen student loan relief to over 30 million Americans. This move benefits more than 135,000 borrowers in Wisconsin who have already signed up for the Saving on a Valuable Education Plan.
Hovde slammed this expansion of debt relief as a “Biden-Baldwin vote buying scheme.” He questioned the justice in expecting taxpayers without student debt to fund those with it, terming it as “wrong.”
On the other hand, Hovde supported the Paycheck Protection Program(PPP), a provision of the 2020 CARES Act that provided forgivable loans to businesses. Banks received financing fees from the SBA of 1% to 5%, with about 92% of the loans being forgiven, according to SBA data.
Sunwest Bank, under Hovde’s leadership, participated in the PPP, disbursing 3,664 loans totaling $906.2 million. This involvement likely resulted in over $9 million in fees for the bank.
The White House has previously criticized Republican lawmakers who availed PPP loans yet opposed student debt relief. Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden, for instance, resisted Biden’s plan, despite his associated nonprofit receiving over $21,000 in PPP loans as reported by the Wisconsin Examiner.
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