J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders attacked the Federal Reserve's $1.5 trillion injection into money markets on Thursday.

"FYI, the amount that the Fed just injected almost covers all student loan debt in the US," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.

"We need to care for working people as much as we care for the stock market," the progressive lawmaker known as "AOC" added.

"When we say it's time to provide health care to all our people, we're told we can't afford it," Sanders tweeted. "But if the stock market is in trouble, no problem!"

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders questioned why the Federal Reserve was able to spend $1.5 trillion to shore up money markets on Thursday, when a frequent criticism of their left-wing proposals such as Medicare for All and forgiving student debt is that they're unaffordable.

"FYI, the amount that the Fed just injected almost covers all student loan debt in the US," Ocasio-Cortez — who goes by "AOC" — tweeted about the central-bank injection.

"There is absolutely NO excuse for not pausing student debt collections, planning for mortgage & rent relief, etc," she added. "We need to care for working people as much as we care for the stock market."

Sanders, who is vying with former Vice President Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination, echoed the freshman lawmaker's comments.

"When we say it's time to provide health care to all our people, we're told we can't afford it," he tweeted.

"But if the stock market is in trouble, no problem!" he added. "The government can just hand out $1.5 trillion to calm bankers on Wall Street."

Some economists have pushed back on the comments, saying they misrepresent the Fed's actions. Rather than hand-outs to Wall Street, the Fed's injections are short-term loans to prevent debt markets from breaking down.

"Hey @BernieSanders, the government isn't giving bankers a penny," Justin Wolfers, University of Michigan professor of economics and public policy, wrote on Twitter. "The Fed's repo facility is, admittedly, complicated, so lemme explain: The Fed is *lending* $1.5 trillion to banks. Those banks put up collateral, so even if they don't repay their loans, the govt won't lose a cent."

The Fed injected $500 billion into money markets on Thursday, and committed to offering a further $1 trillion on Friday and weekly throughout March. The central bank cited "highly unusual disruptions in Treasury financing markets associated with the coronavirus outbreak."

The intervention came on the worst day for US markets since 1987. The three key US stock indexes — the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq — tumbled between 9% and 10% on Thursday.

The economic threat of coronavirus and the breakout of an oil-price war have wiped out the entire $11.5 trillion in value the US stock market gained since Donald Trump's election victory in 2016 — although markets showed signs of recovery on Friday.

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