GOP Lawmakers Announce Bill To Counter Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plans

While President Biden’s administration weighs how to handle the $1.7 trillion Americans have racked up in student loan debt, a trio of Republican lawmakers has proposed an alternative that its backers say is more fiscally responsible than the blanket forgiveness being promoted by progressive Democrats.Representatives Virginia Foxx, Elise Stefanik, and Jim Banks say their “alternative,” a bill titled the Responsible Education Assistance through Loan Reforms Act, offers targeted relief “for borrowers in the greatest need.”“Unlike Democrats’ mass student loan forgiveness scheme, these reforms provide targeted relief to borrowers who need it the most and recognize that not every career path requires a baccalaureate degree,” the lawmakers wrote.The trio said Mr. Biden has forgiven, waived, or canceled at least $217 billion in student loans “behind Americans’ backs without the authorization of Congress.”According to the representatives, their legislation focuses on borrowers who’ve already been making payments for years but saw their balances jump up and ensures existing borrowers only pay back what they owe taxpayers.The act would also prevent the education secretary from issuing future student-loan-related regulations without congressional approval, end the repayment pause, and do away with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program for future borrowers.“Our reforms are fiscally responsible, practical solutions to help students and borrowers. This bill provides targeted relief for borrowers in the greatest need and helps Americans who have been excluded from postsecondary education access high-quality short-term programs,” the lawmakers wrote.Mr. Biden told reporters last week that he’s close to a decision on how to approach student loan debt. That includes the possibility of mass forgiveness and extending the current repayment pause. In April, the president said the pause was designed to “provide a continued lifeline as we recover and rebuild from the pandemic.” The most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, released this morning, say the economy is bouncing back: payrolls rose by 528,000 in July and the unemployment rate is down to 3.5 percent.The Biden administration’s most recent student loan repayment pause ends on August 31.The Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog, found that despite the Department of Education estimating it would earn $114 billion in income from the Direct Loan program, it’s actually going to cost $197 billion — due in part to pandemic relief efforts.“The largest estimated cost increases — $102 billion in total — stemmed from emergency relief provided to most federal student loan borrowers under the CARES Act and related administrative actions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the GAO wrote in its findings.According to Politico, the Department of Education is ready to move forward with mass student loan forgiveness regardless, if that’s what Mr. Biden decides to do.The president is expected to make an announcement on his administration’s moves before the end of the month.

GOP Lawmakers Announce Bill To Counter Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plans

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