• Sen. Marco Rubio mentioned he was solely capable of repay $100,000 in pupil debt as a result of he wrote a e book.

• Rubio acquired an $800,000 advance to put in writing his memoir, monetary disclosures confirmed.

• Rubio mentioned Biden’s student-loan forgiveness is “unfair,” “unlawful,” and doesn’t reform the system.

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio mentioned Saturday he understands the problems with pupil loans within the US as a result of he too had $100,000 in pupil debt earlier than getting elected to Congress and writing a e book that allowed him to pay it off.

The Florida senator appeared on Fox Information’ “One Nation with Brian Kilmeade” to debate his issues with President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel as much as $20,000 in student-loan debt for federal debtors making beneath $125,000 a yr.

Rubio mentioned he agrees pupil loans have to be reformed and that he too was burdened for years with 1000’s of {dollars} of pupil debt.

“I owed over $100,000 in college students loans,” Rubio mentioned. “The day I received elected to the Senate I had over $100,000 nonetheless in pupil loans that I used to be capable of repay as a result of I wrote a e book. And from that cash I used to be capable of pay it, if not I might nonetheless be paying it.”

Rubio graduated from the College of Florida in 1993 and received his regulation diploma from the College of Miami Legislation Faculty in 1996. He served in native and state places of work, together with as Speaker of the Florida Home of Representatives, earlier than getting elected to the Senate in 2010.

His e book, “An American Son: A Memoir,” was printed in 2013. Monetary disclosures confirmed Rubio acquired an $800,000 e book advance from the writer, Penguin Group, in 2012, the Tampa Bay Instances reported. The disclosures additionally confirmed Rubio not reported having $100,000 in pupil debt.

Rubio’s annual wage as a US senator has been $174,000 since taking workplace in 2011, along with his revenue boosted considerably by e book offers and royalties, as is frequent for US politicians.

He printed a second e book, “American Desires: Restoring Financial Alternative for Everybody,” in 2015. It is unclear how giant a e book advance Rubio acquired for that e book, however the Related Press reported in 2016 that 2012 had been his most profitable yr, suggesting it was lower than for his first e book.

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Rubio advised Fox Information that though he agrees the coed mortgage state of affairs is “damaged” and “must be fastened,” Biden’s plan doesn’t embrace long-term reform.

“I’ve bipartisan concepts that I have been pushing for years to do that. This plan would not reform the system,” he mentioned, including: “There are individuals taking out loans proper now that may owe them sooner or later that will not be coated by this, oftentimes for a level that will not result in a job.”

Rubio additionally mentioned he thought the student-loan forgiveness was “unlawful” and that “the president would not have the authority to do that.” He reiterated his perception that canceling the debt was “unfair,” noting that 85% of Individuals should not have debt from pupil loans, both as a result of they paid them off or by no means took them out.

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