WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) joined Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) to introduce the No Bailouts for Campus Criminals Act, legislation preventing any pro-Hamas protestor on college campuses convicted of a crime from having their student loans forgiven. The bill comes after widespread, antisemitic protests continue to spread on college campuses across the United States.

“The president’s entire student loan scheme is a political handout, and the idea that the handout will go to extremists sympathizing with terrorists is even more egregious,” said Risch. “These handouts cannot happen.”

“This legislation sends a strong message that criminal activity will not be tolerated on America’s college campuses, especially when it promotes antisemitism,” said Crapo. “Likewise, student loan forgiveness schemes introduced by the Biden Administration burden taxpayers with more of our nation’s exorbitant student loan debt.  We must ensure we do not compound bad ideas by rewarding criminal protesters with student loan forgiveness.”

 “Americans who never went to college or responsibly paid off their debts shouldn’t have to pay off other people’s student loans,” said Cotton. “They especially shouldn’t have to pay off the loans of Hamas sympathizers shutting down and defacing campuses.”

Risch, Crapo, and Cotton are joined by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) in sponsoring the legislation.

Text of the bill may be found here.