Biden at CBC Dinner: “I’m So Sick of Republicans Saying We’re the Big Spenders”; Attacks GOP Over Student Loan Forgiveness While Their Families Got PPP Loan Forgiveness

On 10/1/2022, President Biden delivered remarks at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 2022 Phoenix Awards Dinner at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in D.C., joined by VP Kamala Harris, Dr. Jill Biden, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. Biden launched into an aggressive defense of his spending agenda, shouting “I’m so sick of Republicans saying we’re the big spenders — give me a break!” He claimed the Inflation Reduction Act would reduce the deficit by $300 billion, defended his student loan forgiveness plan, and attacked Republican members of Congress whose families received PPP pandemic loan forgiveness while criticizing his student debt cancellation.

”I’m So Sick of Republicans”

Biden opened his economic defense with visible frustration. “I’m so sick of Republicans saying we’re the big spenders. Give me a break. Give me a break,” Biden said, his voice rising.

The claim that Democrats were not “the big spenders” was a difficult argument to make in October 2022. The Biden administration had signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan in March 2021 — a stimulus package that many economists, including prominent Democrats like former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, warned would trigger inflation. The administration then pushed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act. Combined with ongoing federal spending, the national debt had grown by trillions during Biden’s tenure.

Republicans had countered that the spending — particularly the American Rescue Plan, which injected massive consumer stimulus into an economy already recovering — was a primary driver of the inflation that reached 9.1% in June 2022, the highest in four decades.

”$300 Billion Deficit Reduction”

Biden cited deficit reduction as evidence of fiscal responsibility. “And by the way, this bill is going to reduce the deficit by another 300 billion over 10 years because Medicare is going to be paying less for the drugs that are going out,” Biden said.

The “$300 billion” figure referred to CBO projections for the Inflation Reduction Act’s deficit impact over a decade. However, this was a net figure that combined new spending with new revenue from tax increases and Medicare drug pricing changes. Critics argued that counting new taxes as “deficit reduction” was misleading — the government was spending more and taxing more, which was different from actual fiscal restraint.

Moreover, the deficit reduction Biden cited was dwarfed by the deficit increases from his earlier spending bills. The American Rescue Plan alone added an estimated $1.9 trillion to the deficit. Claiming fiscal responsibility based on the IRA while ignoring the ARP was like maxing out a credit card, then claiming you were saving money because your latest purchase came with a small rebate.

Student Loan Forgiveness: “Come Bring It On”

Biden then pivoted to his student loan forgiveness plan, framing it as affordable precisely because of the deficit savings. “As a result, we can afford — I know I’m being banged up by the Republicans, but come, bring it on,” Biden said. “We can afford to cancel $10,000 in student debt and $20,000 if you had a Pell Grant. For Americans making under $125,000.”

The student loan forgiveness plan, announced in August 2022, was estimated to cost between $400 billion and $1 trillion depending on the analysis — far exceeding the $300 billion in deficit reduction Biden had just cited. The Penn Wharton Budget Model estimated the cost at approximately $519 billion over ten years. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget put it even higher.

The plan also faced legal challenges. Multiple lawsuits argued Biden lacked the authority to unilaterally cancel student debt without congressional action. The Supreme Court would ultimately strike down the broad forgiveness plan in June 2023 in Biden v. Nebraska, ruling that the HEROES Act did not authorize the mass cancellation program.

The PPP Loan Attack

Biden’s sharpest line targeted Republican members of Congress who had received Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness. “I don’t want to hear a word from those members of Congress — if you notice — whose families got tens of thousands of dollars and several million dollars in pandemic relief loan forgiveness,” Biden said. “The same ones criticizing. Give me a break. Come on.”

The comparison between PPP loans and student loan forgiveness became a standard Democratic talking point in 2022. The White House had published a list of Republican members of Congress who received PPP loan forgiveness, highlighting the perceived hypocrisy of opposing student debt relief while having benefited from government loan forgiveness themselves.

Republicans pushed back on the comparison. PPP loans were explicitly designed to be forgiven if businesses maintained their payrolls during COVID lockdowns — forgiveness was the program’s stated purpose, authorized by Congress through legislation. Student loans, by contrast, were voluntary agreements to borrow money for education, with repayment as the understood obligation. Forgiving student loans by executive action, without congressional authorization, was categorically different from a congressionally authorized forgiveness program, critics argued.

The CBC Setting

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation dinner was a friendly audience for Biden’s combative messaging. The CBC had been among Biden’s strongest congressional allies, and Black voters were a cornerstone of Biden’s 2020 coalition. The Phoenix Awards Dinner was one of the most prestigious events on Washington’s political calendar, drawing senior Democratic officials, civil rights leaders, and corporate sponsors.

Biden’s aggressive tone — “bring it on,” “give me a break,” “come on” — played well in the room but reflected a broader shift in the administration’s midterm messaging strategy. With the November 2022 elections approaching, Biden had moved from bipartisan unity rhetoric to direct attacks on Republicans, including his controversial September 2022 speech at Independence Hall where he called “MAGA Republicans” a threat to democracy.

The Deficit in Context

Biden frequently cited deficit reduction as evidence of responsible governance, but the full picture was more complicated. The deficit fell from $3.1 trillion in FY2020 and $2.8 trillion in FY2021 to $1.4 trillion in FY2022. The decline was largely automatic — pandemic-era emergency spending (stimulus checks, enhanced unemployment, PPP) expired as designed, regardless of who was president. Revenues also increased as the economy reopened.

The administration took credit for this automatic wind-down while simultaneously signing new spending legislation that added to future deficits. The deficit remained well above pre-pandemic levels of roughly $1 trillion annually, and the national debt continued to grow.

Key Takeaways

• Biden told the CBC dinner he was “so sick of Republicans saying we’re the big spenders” after signing trillions in new spending legislation.
• He claimed the IRA would reduce the deficit by $300 billion — while his student loan plan alone was estimated to cost $400 billion to $1 trillion.
• Biden attacked Republican members of Congress whose families received PPP loan forgiveness while criticizing his student debt cancellation.
• Republicans argued PPP forgiveness was congressionally authorized by design, while student loan forgiveness was unilateral executive action.
• The Supreme Court would strike down Biden’s broad student loan forgiveness plan in June 2023.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

• I’m so sick of Republicans saying we’re the big spenders. Give me a break. Give me a break.
• This bill is going to reduce the deficit by another 300 billion over 10 years.
• We can afford to cancel $10,000 in student debt and $20,000 if you had a Pell Grant.
• I know I’m being banged up by the Republicans, but come bring it on.
• I don’t want to hear a word from those members of Congress whose families got tens of thousands of dollars in pandemic relief loan forgiveness.
• The same ones criticizing. Give me a break. Come on.

Full transcript: 137 words transcribed via Whisper AI.