Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) continues to report tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt despite earning a congressional salary for nearly eight years, according to her latest financial disclosure.
Ocasio-Cortez’s August disclosure lists between $15,001 and $50,000 in federal student loan debt, according to the New York Post.
The New York Democrat has reported her student loans within the same disclosure range since she was elected to Congress in 2018.
However, because congressional financial disclosures report debts in ranges rather than exact amounts, the filings do not establish whether Ocasio-Cortez has reduced the underlying balance while remaining within the $15,001-to-$50,000 bracket.
Ocasio-Cortez has earned at least $174,000 annually as a member of Congress and reported less than $81,000 in total assets in her latest disclosure, according to the outlet.
The disclosure is attracting attention as the 36-year-old congresswoman publicly documents her decision to freeze her eggs, a procedure that can carry significant out-of-pocket costs.
Ocasio-Cortez recently revealed on Instagram that she had begun the egg-freezing process, including administering daily injections used ahead of egg retrieval.
“I got sworn into the House of Representatives when I was 29 years old,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“There’s this flip side where you have to then grow up in the public eye in a time that most people usually get to grow more privately.”
Egg freezing can cost between $10,000 and $20,000 per cycle, according to estimates cited by the Post. Initial consultations can cost hundreds of dollars, while patients can also face medication expenses and annual storage fees reaching approximately $1,000.
Ocasio-Cortez has indicated that she had been saving money for the procedure.
She has also emphasized that she is personally responsible for the cost of her decision and that taxpayers are not paying for the procedure.
“This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life,” Ocasio-Cortez told her followers.
“And if people want to make assumptions about my decision, let them make those assumptions. I feel empowered to make this choice.”
The attention surrounding her outstanding student loans is particularly notable given Ocasio-Cortez’s longstanding advocacy for widespread student debt cancellation.
During former President Joe Biden’s administration, Ocasio-Cortez pushed the White House to cancel as much as $50,000 in student debt per borrower, per the New York Post.
“Entire generations of working class kids were encouraged to go into more debt under the guise of elitism. This is wrong,” she said in February 2021.
“Nowhere does it say we must trade-off early childhood education for student loan forgiveness. We can have both.”
At the time, Ocasio-Cortez argued that proposals to forgive approximately $10,000 per borrower did not go far enough.
“We’ve got the Senate Majority Leader on board to forgive $50k. Biden’s holding back, but many of the arguments against it just don’t hold water on close inspection,” she said.
Ocasio-Cortez accumulated her student loans while attending Boston University, where she studied international relations and economics between 2007 and 2011.
She worked as a bartender before launching the congressional campaign that ultimately propelled her to national prominence.
Other members of Congress have also continued carrying student debt while serving in Washington.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has reported as much as $50,000 in student loans over the past eight years, according to the Post.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), meanwhile, previously disclosed as much as $100,000 in law school debt. Her more recent filings indicate the balance could now be as high as $50,000.
Ocasio-Cortez remained one of the most vocal congressional supporters of Biden’s attempts to enact large-scale student loan relief.
After the Supreme Court rejected Biden’s original student debt cancellation program in 2023, Ocasio-Cortez argued that the administration should pursue another legal avenue.
“It is very important to note this SCOTUS ruling does NOT remove Biden’s ability to pursue student loan forgiveness,” she said at the time.
“The Biden Admin can use the HEA (Higher Ed Act) – our position from the start – to continue loan forgiveness before payments resume. They should do so ASAP.”
Her finances and decision to freeze her eggs are receiving additional attention as speculation continues about whether Ocasio-Cortez could seek the presidency in 2028.
She has rejected suggestions that her political ambitions motivated the decision.
Instead, Ocasio-Cortez has characterized egg freezing as a personal choice intended to give her greater control over when or whether she decides to have children.
Her latest financial disclosure nevertheless shows that, as she begins that potentially expensive process, she continues to carry somewhere between $15,001 and $50,000 in federal student loan debt.
