Chris Lieberman, FISM News
[elfsight_social_share_buttons id=”1″]
The U.S. Senate voted 52-46 on Thursday to block President Biden’s executive order canceling student debt, sending a message that even some within the president’s own party do not support the program.
Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Jon Tester (Mont.) and Independent Sen. Krysten Sinema (Ariz.) joined with all 49 Senate Republicans to approve a measure overturning the president’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 annually. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Biden’s plan would cost taxpayers $400 billion.
“Today I voted to repeal the Biden Administration’s student loan cancellation proposal because we simply cannot afford to add another $400 billion to the national debt,” Manchin said in a statement.
There are already more than 50 existing student loan repayment and forgiveness programs aimed at attracting individuals to vital service jobs, such as teachers, health care workers, and public servants. This Biden proposal undermines these programs and forces hard-working taxpayers who already paid off their loans or did not go to college to shoulder the cost. Instead, we should be focusing on bipartisan student debt reforms that reduce the cost of higher education and help all Americans.
Republicans argue that the plan would unfairly shift the burden of loan repayment onto the 87% who have not taken out or have paid back student loans.
“We’re asking taxpayers at large to foot the bill for student loan cancellation for Americans who enjoy greater long-term earning potential than many of the Americans who will be helping to shoulder the burden,” said Sen. Jon Thune (R-S.D.). “The president’s student loan giveaway isn’t a government handout for the needy, it’s a government handout that will be disproportionately beneficial to Americans who are better off.”
But supporters of the president’s plan blasted the Senate vote, saying that loan forgiveness would be a lifeline to borrowers drowning in debt. “The Biden administration’s Debt Relief Plan was designed to alleviate the overwhelming financial burden on millions of American students and their families,” National Education Association President Becky Pringle said in a statement.
President Biden’s plan represented a long-overdue opportunity to level the playing field and ensure that higher education remains accessible to all, regardless of economic background. But today, Congress decided to block this much-needed relief. Americans deserve a Congress that will help them pursue their dreams — not squash them.
The measure to block Biden’s plan passed the House last week, also with the support of two Democrats, and will now go to the president’s desk, where it faces a certain veto. With neither chamber of Congress having enough votes to override the veto, Thursday’s vote was largely a ceremonial gesture, showing disapproval for student loan forgiveness within the Democratic ranks.
The real test of the president’s plan remains ahead, with the Supreme Court set to rule on two challenges to the loan forgiveness program later this month. Many expect the Court’s 6-3 conservative majority to rule against the administration.
Republicans previously attempted to include blocking the student debt forgiveness program in negotiations to raise the debt ceiling, but the measure was not included in the final bill. The agreement does, however, prevent the president from further extending the over 3-year-long pause on student loan repayment that began in March 2020 at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Loan payment is set to resume on September 1 or 60 days after the Supreme Court issues its ruling on the loan forgiveness plan, whichever comes first.