The latest proposal by President Joe Biden to cancel student loan debt is simply another attempt by the administration to place the burden onto the backs of American taxpayers, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) said on Oct. 25.
Announced on Friday, the proposed rule is Biden’s third attempt at student loan cancellation as he faces legal challenges from Republican states. The U.S. Supreme Court last year rejected the president’s first plan, and his second plan has been temporarily stopped by a federal judge in Missouri.
“Once again, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are defying the Supreme Court and Congress to unilaterally enact their student loan schemes that transfer debt from those who willingly took it on to Americans who chose not to go to college, paid their way through school, or fulfilled their commitment to pay their loans off,” Sen. Cassidy said in a statement. “This is irresponsible and unfair.”
Specifically, Biden’s new proposal attempts to empower the administration to unilaterally cancel student debt for borrowers who have faced a “hardship,” with what Sen. Cassidy says are no clear restrictions on what constitutes a hardship.
“Where is the forgiveness for the guy who didn’t go to college but is working to pay off the loan on the truck he takes to work? What about the woman who paid off her student loans, but is now struggling to afford her mortgage? Is the administration providing them relief? Of course not,” said Sen. Cassidy. “Instead, the Biden-Harris administration would have them pay not only their bills, but the bills of those who decided to go to college in order to make more money.”
The senator in March 2023 also led a Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the original Biden student loan cancellation policy, which would have canceled up to $20,000 in student loan debt per borrower, costing an estimated $400 billion, according to Sen. Cassidy.
Congress approved the CRA with bipartisan support but Biden vetoed it on June 7, 2023. The CRA also failed to overcome the president’s veto on June 21, 2023.