September 11, 2023 |
Photo – Student Loan Forgiveness Ad – Courtesy studentaid.gov
U.S. Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis joined 15 of their colleagues on Friday in introducing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that seeks to overturn President Biden’s income-driven repayment (IDR) rule, which would allow student loan borrowers to forgo paying back even the principal on their loans. Under Biden’s plan, the debt would be put on the backs of taxpayers, many of whom paid their own college debt or avoided college to avoid taking on the cost in the first place.
A similar Biden scheme already has been rejected by the U.S. Supreme court.
Senator Barrasso said in a comment, “President Biden continues to push his unconstitutional student loan forgiveness scheme.” Barrasso said the president “is determined to insult every American who played by the rules and worked hard to responsibly pay off their own debt.”
Senator Lummis said Biden’s continued pursuit of making everyday Americans pay for the debts of college students “shows just how separated he is from reality.”
The joint resolution reads, “Congress disapproves the rule submitted by the Department of Education,” and declares that “such rule shall have no force or effect.”
The Congressional Review Act allows Congress to examine new regulations made by government agencies and overturn them with a majority vote.
The effort to use the CRA to stop Biden’s student debt erasure plan is led by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), ranking member for the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa.).
If a majority of the Senate supports the resolution, Biden’s student loan forgiveness would be overturned and a federal agency would not be able to propose another plan similar to it unless it was put into law.
The Biden Administration blames the coronavirus for creating the national emergency that underpins its reasoning for the bailout.
One U.S. Senator asked rhetorically, “Where is the relief for the man who skipped college but is paying off his work truck, or the woman who paid off her loans and is now struggling to afford her mortgage?”
The Biden loan forgiveness gimmick is already hanging in the balance at the Supreme Court, where a majority-conservative court seemed highly skeptical of the legality of the plan during oral arguments last month.
