Legislation offered by U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Thune (R-SD), and Richard Burr (R-NC) would halt a plan by President Joe Biden to continue suspending repayments on federal student loans.
“As Americans continue to return to the workforce more than two years since the pandemic began, it is time for borrowers to resume repayment of student debt obligations,” Sen. Thune said. “Taxpayers and working families should not be responsible for continuing to bear the costs associated with this suspension of repayment.”
Sen. Thune on April 27 sponsored the Stop Reckless Student Loan Actions Act, S. 4094, with five original cosponsors, including Sens. Cassidy and Burr, which would amend the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 to strike the U.S. Department of Education Secretary’s unilateral authority during a national emergency, according to the congressional record bill summary.
S. 4094 would still allow the president to temporarily suspend repayment for low- and middle-income borrowers in future national emergencies and would prohibit the president from canceling outstanding federal student loan obligations due to a national emergency, says a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
President Biden on April 6 announced the fourth extension of the suspension of qualifying federal student loan repayments through August 31 and said that when repayments do resume, all borrowers whose federal student loans are delinquent or in default would be made current, the lawmakers said. Prior to this extension, the repayment of these federal student loans was scheduled to resume this month.
“The Biden administration continues to call for a return to normalcy from the pandemic, while simultaneously extending emergency relief programs like the student loan repayment freeze,” said Sen. Burr. “They can’t have it both ways.”
Resuming student loan repayments is long overdue, especially during the current strong job market, Sen. Burr added. “That’s why I’m proud to work with my colleagues on this important bill, which will end the repayment moratorium that has exacerbated the existing moral hazard against borrowers and cost taxpayers an estimated $5 billion per month,” he said.
“Unemployment is not at pandemic levels and a student loan repayment pause benefits those who are high income and able to pay their bills,” said Sen. Cassidy. “The administration is spending without congressional approval. That should be considered unconstitutional.”
“Any future suspension of federal student loan repayments should be left to Congress, not the Biden administration,” Sen. Thune added.
Americans for Tax Reform and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget endorsed the bill.