On Monday, Senate Republicans said they will introduce a bill to stop President Biden’s plan to forgive student loans.
The senators are putting forward a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would kill Vice President Biden’s plan, which is being held up by the Supreme Court, to forgive up to $20,000 in federal loan debt for borrowers.
The Congressional Budget Office said that over the next 30 years, it would cost about $400 billion. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La. ), the ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), along with 35 other Republican senators, are in charge of the resolution.
The CRA gives Congress the power to look over and get rid of any rules made by a federal agency. The Government Accountability Office found that Biden’s plan to help people with student debt was covered by the act.
Cassidy said, “President Biden isn’t getting rid of debt. Instead, he’s putting the burden of student loans on people who chose not to go to college or have already paid off their loans.” “It is not fair at all to punish these Americans by making them pay for these unfair and irresponsible student loan schemes.
The resolution would have to pass through the House, which is run by Republicans, and the Senate, which is run by Democrats, and then be signed by the president.
Most likely, Biden would veto the resolution, but the CRA vote would force some members of his party to take a stand on his plan.
Even though Democrats run the Senate, not everyone agrees that student loans should be forgiven. Some Democrats criticized Biden when the plan was announced.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said soon after Biden announced the plan, “I just thought it was too much.”
Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) put forward a similar CRA resolution in the House, which is run by Republicans and has a good chance of passing.
“President Biden’s so-called student loan forgiveness programs don’t get rid of the debt. Instead, they put the costs, which amount to hundreds of billions of dollars, on taxpayers,” said Good.
“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 illegal plan for student loans. I hope that all of my coworkers will join me and help with this.”
The resolutions were made because the Supreme Court is still thinking about whether or not the program is legal.
During oral arguments in February, the conservative-leaning Supreme Court seemed doubtful that the Biden administration had the legal right to give debt relief without getting approval from Congress.
The court is likely to make a final choice in May or June.
