Senate Advances Bid to Overturn Biden’s Student Loan Debt Cancellation Plan
By Hugh T. Ferguson, NASFAA Senior Staff Reporter
The Senate on Thursday cleared a resolution that would overturn President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan and end the pause on federal student loan payments, and now heads to the White House for an expected presidential veto.
The resolution was advanced by a vote of 52-46, with Republicans in the chamber uniting in opposition to the program. Joining Republicans were Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Krysten Sinema (I-Ariz.), and John Tester (D-Mont.) who broke ranks with Democrats in voting to rescind the program.
Since the measure was considered as a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution, the Senate only needed a simple majority to clear it.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and sponsor of the Senate companion bill, lauded the vote as a win for taxpayers.
“The President’s student loan schemes do not ‘forgive’ debt, they just shift the burden from those who chose to take out loans onto those who never went to college or already fulfilled their commitment to pay off their loans,” Cassidy said in a statement. “Our bipartisan resolution prevents average Americans, the 87 percent of whom currently have no student loans, from being forced to foot the bill of these unfair and irresponsible policies.”
Despite the successful initial passage through Congress, it is nearly certain the measure will not be enacted as the White House plans to veto the bill, and Republicans are unlikely to be able to garner the two-thirds majority needed to overturn a presidential veto. Meanwhile, , the United States Supreme Court is expected to rule sometime this month on whether the program can be implemented.
Stay tuned to Today’s News for more coverage.
Publication Date: 6/2/2023
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