Grassley Joins Cassidy, Cornyn, Ernst, Colleagues in Effort to Overturn Biden’s Reckless Student Loan Bailout
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today joined Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and 34 Republican colleagues in introducing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn President Biden’s student loan cancelation proposal, which would transfer up to $20,000 in student loan debt per borrower onto taxpayers, totaling an estimated $400 billion. The CRA would also end the pause on student loan repayments, which costs taxpayers $5 billion a month and has been extended six times under the Biden administration, far beyond the original pandemic justification. By the time the repayment pause is set to expire in August of 2023, it will have cost Americans a total of $195 billion.
On March 17th, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced that President Biden’s student loan policy is classified as a rule and is eligible to be overturned under the CRA. Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) introduced the companion CRA resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives. A full list of Senate cosponsors is available HERE.
“As with most financial decisions made by this administration, the student loan cancelation plan demonstrates complete budgetary incompetence and is yet another instance of federal overreach,” Grassley said. “I’m glad to join my congressional colleagues in taking this step to restore common sense to the federal student loan process. I’ll also continue working to advance legislative solutions that will help students better financially prepare for higher education.”
“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 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.”
“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,” Ernst said.
“President Biden’s so-called student loan forgiveness programs do not make the debt go away, but merely transfer the costs from student loan borrowers onto taxpayers to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars,” Good said. “Congress should stop these unilateral actions, and I am proud to lead the fight in the House to hold President Biden accountable for his reckless, unfair, and unlawful student loan proposal. I hope all my colleagues will join me and support this effort.”
“This resolution will dissuade the executive branch from other expansions of its authority, prevent the transfer of billions in debt payments to all taxpayers, and prevent this authority from being spuriously activated in the future,” said Nicholas Johns, Policy and Government Affairs Manager of National Taxpayers Union.
“The Biden administration’s debt cancellation plan is a poor solution to a serious problem. Rather than addressing college costs and quality, the president’s higher education proposals would lead to more borrowing, higher tuition, and worse overall outcomes. The $400 billion in debt cancellation would offer windfalls to higher earners while boosting inflation for Americans already struggling with high prices on everything from rent to groceries. The unilateral action will add to the national debt that is already on course to reach a record share of the economy and increase recession risk. We applaud Senator Cassidy and Representative Good’s efforts to roll back this costly policy and encourage Congress and the President to work together on a responsible set of reforms to truly improve the cost and quality of our higher education system,” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
“Debt does not simply disappear. There is no such thing as student loan debt ‘forgiveness’ or ‘cancellation’ – there is only shifting the burden of paying that debt to someone else. The Biden administration’s debt-shifting scheme would benefit the wealthy elite while simultaneously punishing responsible Americans, driving up inflation, and failing to address the real problems in higher education,” said Jessica Anderson, Executive Director of Heritage Action.
Background
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 President Biden’s executive authority under the Constitution. The Supreme Court is expected to issue an opinion on the policy this summer.
Last month, Grassley joined Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) in introducing the Stop Reckless Student Loan Actions Act, which would end President Biden’s student loan pause. Grassley also introduced three bipartisan bills to help students and families make informed decisions about borrowing for college and avoid taking on oversized amounts of student loan debt.
