U.S. Sens. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) are among a group of Republican senators who introduced a resolution this week to overturn President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel student loan debt.
The resolution would also end the pause on student loan payments, which the Biden administration has extended six times. The lawmakers said the pause will have cost a total of $195 billion by the time the most recent extension is set to expire in August 2023.
“It makes no sense for the Biden Administration to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt,” Romney said. “This decision would not only be unfair to those who already repaid their loans or decided to pursue alternative education paths, but it would be wildly inflationary at a time of already historic inflation. Democrats and Republicans alike have called on the President to not take this unwise step and pile more onto our $30 trillion national debt. And while the President’s legal authority in forgiving this debt is dubious at best, our resolution would overturn these actions.”
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently determined that Biden’s student loan policy is classified as a rule and is eligible to be overturned under the Congressional Review Act (CRA).
“President Biden is not forgiving debt, he is shifting the burden of student loans off of the borrowers who willingly took on their debt and placing it onto those who chose to not go to college or already fulfilled their commitment to pay off their loans,” Cassidy said. “It is extremely unfair to punish these Americans, forcing them to pay the bill for these irresponsible and unfair student loan schemes.”
The senators estimated that Biden’s plan would transfer up to $20,000 in student loan debt per borrower onto taxpayers, costing an estimated $400 billion.
“The Biden administration’s tuition bailout is bad public policy, and it’s unfair to people who’ve paid their college debt off by working multiple jobs or consciously meeting their obligations,” Cornyn said. “This would block President Biden’s political gambit from driving up inflation, incentivizing universities to raise tuition, and forcing hardworking Texans to pay off the debts of wealthy graduates.”
Recently, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the cases Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown on whether the student loan cancelation program violates Biden’s executive authority under the Constitution. The Supreme Court is expected to issue an opinion on the policy this summer.
“President Biden’s attempt to transfer nearly half a trillion dollars in debt to hardworking Americans who chose to avoid or pay off student loans is unfair and unaffordable. That’s why I’m fighting to stop Biden’s student loan socialism and protect Iowa taxpayers from being forced to foot the bill,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA).
The resolution has the backing of the National Taxpayers Union and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
U.S. Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) introduced a companion resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives.