July 26, 2023

Senate Passes Measure to Stop Biden's Student Debt Forgiveness

The Senate dealt President Biden a blow last Thursday by approving a measure that nullifies his student debt relief plan, which seeks to provide up to $20,000 in loan forgiveness to 40 million borrowers, though the president is likely to reject measure.

The Senate approved the measure by a vote of 52-46, just days after the Republican-controlled House approved it. Democratic Sens. Jon Tester (Mont.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) joined Republicans in rejecting Biden's proposal.

Being a Congressional Review (CRA) measure, only 50 votes were required instead of the usual 60 to overcome a filibuster.The White House made it clear that a veto is looming, and neither house can get the two-thirds vote needed to override it.However, Biden's proposal is still subject to ruling by the Supreme Court, which is conservative-leaning and appeared highly skeptical during oral arguments earlier this year.

While student debt forgiveness has strong support among progressives, the rejection of it in both houses would not have been possible without the help of moderate Democrats. In a statement, Manchin said the nation "simply cannot afford to add another $400 billion to the national debt."

"There are already more than 50 existing student loan repayment and forgiveness programs aimed at attracting people to vital service jobs, such as teachers, healthcare workers and public servants. This Biden proposal undermines these programs and forces hard-working taxpayers who already paid off their loans or didn't go to college to bear the cost," he said.

Votes in the House and Senate moved quickly, as Republicans were able to expedite the process after the Government Accountability Office declared Biden's plan subject to the CRA.Debt relief is estimated to cost taxpayers about $400 billion. The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that reversing the relief would reduce the deficit by $320 billion over a 10-year period.

Liberals have said they not only disagree with efforts to repeal the measure, but also worry that doing so will mean borrowers have to pay interest on missed payments during the pandemic.