Source: United States Senator for Arkansas – John Boozman
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) joined Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and 37 Republican colleagues in introducing a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn President Biden’s student loan cancelation scheme, which would transfer up to $20,000 in student loan debt per borrower onto taxpayers, costing an estimated $400 billion. The CRA would also end the pause on student loan payments, which costs taxpayers $5 billion a month and has been extended six times under the Biden administration, far beyond the original pandemic justification. The pause will have cost Americans a total of $195 billion by the time the most recent extension is set to expire in August of 2023.
On March 17, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced President Biden’s student loan policy is classified as a rule and is eligible to be overturned under the CRA.
“The Biden administration’s attempt to bail out likely high-income earners at the expense of other Americans has been wrong from the outset,” Boozman said. “It should be working with Congress to reach commonsense solutions that address student loan debt and the affordability of higher education in a responsible manner without placing the burden on hardworking individuals and families. My colleagues and I will continue fighting to block this executive overreach and redistribution plan.”
“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,” said Dr. Cassidy. “It is extremely unfair to punish these Americans, forcing them to pay the bill for these irresponsible and unfair student loan schemes.”
“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. We commend Congressman Good and Senator Cassidy for introducing this measure allowing Congress to revoke the unlawful authority claimed by the administration to redistribute student loan debt,” said Jessica Anderson, Executive Director of Heritage Action.
In addition to Cassidy and Boozman, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Joni Ernst (R-IA), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Ted Budd (R-NC), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Steve Daines (R-MT), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Ron Johnson (R-WI), John Kennedy (R-LA), James Lankford (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), John Thune (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Todd Young (R-IN) are sponsoring the resolution.
Congressman Bob Good (R-VA-05) introduced the companion CRA resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Congress, through the CRA, has an expedited mechanism to overturn certain federal agency regulations and actions. A joint resolution of disapproval under the CRA is also afforded special privileges that bypass normal Senate rules and allow for a vote on the Senate floor. When a CRA resolution is approved by a simple majority in both chambers of Congress and signed by the president—or if Congress successfully overrides a presidential veto—the rule is invalidated.
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 exceeds President Biden’s executive authority under the Constitution. The Supreme Court is expected to issue an opinion on the policy this summer.
On February 7, Boozman joined U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and 41 other senators in filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court challenging the Biden administration’s student loan cancelation program, which they say circumvents the authority of Congress.