Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., slammed Republicans after she revealed she owes nearly $20,000 in student loans at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on college debt Tuesday, according to a report.
“I’m hearing people on this committee say it’s not our job,” she said, referring to Republicans, according to the New York Post. “This is our job.”
The committee was discussing how to bring down the estimated $1.5 trillion in student debt owed in the United States.
“I literally made a student loan payment while I was sitting here at this chair, and I looked at my balance, and it was $20,237.16,” she said. “I just made a payment that took me down to $19,000 so I feel really accomplished right now.”
Ocasio-Cortez is one of 70 members of Congress who are still paying off student debt for themselves or a dependent, the Post reported.
Last month, President Trump signed an executive order to cancel student loan debts for permanently disabled veterans.
