The Biden administration threatened Monday to veto a Republican joint resolution aiming to cancel President Joe Biden’s student loan debt “relief” plan.
The resolution, led by Republican Virginia Rep. Bob Good, would block Biden’s Department of Education from issuing up to $20,000 of debt “forgiveness” for those with government-issued student loans. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Bob Good To Introduce Resolution Overturning Biden’s Student Loan Giveaway)
The House is expected to vote on the resolution in the coming days, and it could pass given the Republican majority. The legislation is unlikely to go anywhere in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
The White House argued the Republican plan “is an unprecedented attempt to undercut our historic economic recovery and would deprive more than 40 million hard-working Americans of much-needed student debt relief.”
Blocking student loan “forgiveness” would also “weaken America’s middle class,” the administration said in a statement.
“Nearly 90 percent of the relief provided by the Department of Education would go to Americans earning less than $75,000 per year, and no relief would go to any individual or household in the top 5 percent of incomes. Americans should be able to have a little more breathing room as they recover from the economic strains associated with the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement reads.
Biden justified his student loan program by tying it to COVID-19 relief and using the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (HEROES) Act of 2003.
Under Biden’s program, those making under $125,0000 can sign up to receive $10,000 towards their student loans. Those with Pell Grants can receive up to $20,000.
The “forgiveness” program is currently facing a legal battle on multiple fronts. In November, a Texas federal judge ruled the plan to be “an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s legislative power” and the program was temporality halted in October after several states successfully sued the Biden administration. (RELATED: Federal Judge Blocks Biden’s ‘Unconstitutional’ Student Loan Forgiveness Plan)
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the student loan plan in the coming months.
The administration issued a pause on federal student loan repayments when Biden took office. The pause has been extended repeatedly throughout the legal battle, but payments will resume within 60 days if the Supreme Court does not issue a ruling by June 30.