GOP Fumes Over Biden’s Plan To Waste $147B In Taxpayer Money
What is Biden thinking?
A coalition of 130 Republican members of Congress has called on the Biden administration to retract a recent $147 billion student loan forgiveness initiative, which they deem irresponsible and excessive.
This diverse group, spanning from moderate Senator Mitt Romney of Utah to staunch conservative Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado, addressed their concerns in a letter to President Biden’s Education Department. They criticized the new debt relief plan, which surpasses an earlier effort invalidated by the Supreme Court, arguing it unfairly burdens taxpayers by transferring the debt of nearly 28 million borrowers onto them.
Led by House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (NC) and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee ranking member Bill Cassidy (LA), the Republicans stated, “This latest move, costing an estimated $147 billion, forces taxpayers to shoulder the debt of others, an approach that is both fiscally reckless and legally dubious.”
The letter was co-signed by prominent GOP figures, including Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barasso (WY) and House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (NY). The Republicans emphasized that the Supreme Court’s decision in June 2023, which nullified Biden’s attempt to cancel $430 billion in student loans, clearly indicated a lack of legal authority to discharge federal student loans en masse.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Education Department has sought alternative methods under the Higher Education Act of 1965 to forgive substantial portions of the debt. However, Republicans argue that this strategy, referred to as “Plan B,” relies on tenuous statutory interpretation and lacks precedent in its expansive application by any previous Secretary of Education.
During his 2020 campaign, President Biden, now 81, promised to alleviate federally held student loan debt. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has expressed the administration’s unwavering commitment to this cause, aiming to provide relief to as many borrowers as possible.
In the lead-up to the upcoming November elections, both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have promoted their debt cancellation efforts in key swing states, a move criticized by Republicans as an attempt to “buy votes.”
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the total cost of Biden’s student loan forgiveness initiatives could range between $870 billion and $1.4 trillion, with $620 billion already canceled through various programs, including the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan. The SAVE plan, an income-driven repayment scheme, is projected to forgive up to $25,000 in debt on average for households earning more than $312,000 annually, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model.
In response to the Republicans’ letter, an Education Department spokesperson stated, “We have received the letter and it will be reviewed as part of our Notice of Proposed Rulemaking process. Public comments, including those from Congress, are integral to our final rulemaking decisions. Our goal remains to support borrowers failed by the current student loan system and to establish regulations that mitigate the burden of student debt.”
