(PresidentialHill.com)- Members of both the House and the Senate are working to overturn President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel federal student loan debt through authority that Congress has.
Even though the president’s plan is being challenged in front of the Supreme Court right now, it’s possible that the White House could take a different route to cancel student loan debt should they lose the court case. That’s why Congress members have been figuring out whether they can do something about it.
Turns out, they certainly can.
The Government Accountability Office recently ruled that Congress does have the power to overturn the student loan plan using what’s known as the Congressional Review Act. That law gives lawmakers the ability to revoke certain executive rules not long after they go into effect.
Following that GAO decision, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Republican Representative Bob Good of Virginia said earlier this week that they’re leading a new Joint Resolution of Disapproval. That’s the first step that Congress must take if they want to overturn the Biden administration’s student loan cancellation plan.
In a statement, Good said:
“President Biden’s so-called student loan forgiveness programs do not make the debt go away, but merely transfer the costs from student loan borrowers onto taxpayers to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars.”
This past August, Biden said the White House would end up forgiving $10,000 in debt for federal student loans for people who earn less than $125,000 a year, or $250,000 for couples who are married. Anyone who borrowed student loan money before last July 1 are able to qualify for the program.
Those who were awarded Pell Grants could see total student loan forgiveness of as much as $20,000.
Official estimates from the U.S. Congressional Budget Office revealed that Biden’s plan would ultimately cost taxpayers roughly $400 billion. There are other estimates that believe that total could be even higher, though.
The program is currently on hold while the Supreme Court is considering a challenge to the rule. Their final decision in the matter is expected in the next few weeks.
In the meantime, Cassidy commented on why he wants to overturn Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan through Congress, saying:
“President Biden is not forgiving debt. He is shifting the burden of student loans off of the borrowers who willingly took on their debt and placing it onto those who chose to not go to college or already fulfilled their commitment to pay off their loans. It is extremely unfair to punish these Americans, forcing them to pay the bill for these irresponsible and unfair student loan schemes.”
Thus far, the bill has 39 total co-sponsors. There are many national groups that are on board as well, including America First Policy Institute, Heritage Action, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the National Taxpayers Union.
The challenge to it getting passed is that it’s Biden who would need to sign it into law, which he obviously wouldn’t do. That means Congress would need to get enough members on board to override the president’s expected veto.
