Several Republican lawmakers announced on Friday that they will introduce a Congressional Review Act (CRA) to reverse President Joe Biden’s attempt to cancel student loan debt, according to a press release sent to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, John Cornyn of Texas and Joni Ernst of Iowa made the announcement shortly after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) ruled that the CRA, a congressional oversight tool to reverse rules by federal agencies, can be used to counter the Biden administration’s student loan cancelation proposal, according to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions’ press release. The senators argue that the plan does not cancel debt, but shifts the burden to the taxpayers. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Legal Group Sues Education Department For Withholding Records On Student Loan Debt Forgiveness)
“President Biden’s student loan scheme does not ‘forgive’ debt, it just transfers the burden from those who willingly took out loans to those who never went to college, or sacrificed to pay their loans off,” Cassidy, the committee ranking member, said in the press release. “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? This resolution prevents these Americans, whose debts look different from the favored group the Biden administration has selected, from picking up the bill for this irresponsible and unfair policy.”
🚨@USGAO confirms Biden’s Student Loan Scheme is subject to the Congressional Review Act. Ranking Member @SenBillCassidy, @JohnCornyn and @SenJoniErnst announce they will file a CRA to overturn the action. https://t.co/GsxtKhNSpG
— HELP Committee GOP (@GOPHELP) March 17, 2023
The Biden administration’s plan, which was announced in August, would forgive up to $20,000 in debt for borrowers who received Pell Grants and $10,000 for those who did not. The place is currently on ice as the Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments for two cases challenging the proposal last month, makes a final decision.
The proposal is “bad public policy” and “unfair to people who’ve paid their college debt off by working multiple jobs or consciously meeting their obligations,” Cornyn said. The act 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.”
Biden’s student loan plan would cost taxpayers more than $400 billion by adding to the national debt, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated in September.
“President Biden’s unfair attempt to transfer nearly half a trillion dollars in student debt to American taxpayers only helps the wealthy and hurts working families,” Ernst said in the press release. “Why should Iowans who chose to go straight into the workforce or pay for their own education foot the bill? Despite the administration’s attempts at avoiding Congressional oversight, we’re working to protect hardworking Americans and put a stop to the president’s reckless actions.”
The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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