Following are excerpts from the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona during the “Invest in You: Ready. Set. Grow America’s Financial Education” town hall. The full interview will stream on
All references must be sourced to CNBC + Acorns “Invest in You” town hall.
SECRETARY CARDONA ON STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS
We’re going to continue conversations around loan forgiveness, broad loan forgiveness, but we also have a Build Back Better agenda that provides community college for all if passed. And I’m really hopeful that we can correct some of the issues that have happened in the past, so that we don’t have people swimming in debt and we can stop the bleeding.
SECRETARY CARDONA ON THE TEXAS VACCINE MANDATE
I feel for educators who just want to protect their students and want to protect their families, too. They want to go into a work environment where they know that they are protected, but that’s why elections matter. When President Biden was elected, when we talk about elevating the profession, yes, resources matter. And we’ve seen with the American Rescue Plan, and Congress passed it, that matters. But protecting our educators and honoring them by saying we’re going to protect your workspace by requiring what we know works. That is so basic. So yes, I think the Governor is off, and that is why our office for Civil Rights is investigating how those actions could potentially be discriminating against students’ rights to public education if they are medically vulnerable or fragile, or students with disabilities that are more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19.
SECRETARY CARDONA ON THE TEACHER SHORTAGE
As a country, we need to do better. Respecting the profession and honoring our educators, and that starts by making sure that they have a livable wage in many parts of our country. They must have more than one job to make ends meet. That’s unacceptable.
