The House of Representatives passed a resolution Wednesday that would overturn Joe Biden’s student debt cancellation, which is currently in the hands of the Supreme Court (SCOTUS). Led by Kevin McCarthy, 218 Republicans and 2 Democrats voted to override the President’s initiative.
The measure, pushed by Congressman Bob Good (R-VA), was made possible by the Congressional Review Act (CRA), which allows Congress to suspend executive actions taken by the President.
The Democrats voting in favor were Jared Golden (D-MA) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA).
“President Biden’s student loan transfer scheme shifts hundreds of billions of dollars of payments from student loan borrowers onto the backs of the American people,” Congressman Good commented after the vote.
“I am proud to lead the fight against President Biden’s reckless, unilateral, and unauthorized action that would unfairly penalize those who worked hard to pay off their loans or who never took them out in the first place. I am pleased that my Republican colleagues overwhelmingly supported my legislation on the House Floor,” he added in celebration.
President Biden doesn’t have the authority to “forgive” student loans. The catch with his free college agenda is that American taxpayers will be forced to pay off the debts of others. It's time to overturn his scheme. pic.twitter.com/yQCYRH56YJ
— Congressman Bob Good (@RepBobGood) May 24, 2023
Although the future approval is not very bright in the Senate, some Democrats, such as Joe Manchin, have spoken out against Biden’s debt cancellation, which could amount to as much as $20,000 per student.
The White House quickly responded to the resolution passed by the Lower House. “This resolution is an unprecedented attempt to undermine our historic economic recovery and would deprive more than 40 million hardworking Americans of much-needed student debt relief,” the Biden Administration said.
The President has already stated that he will veto the resolution if it reaches his desk.
The cost of Biden’s plan to cancel student debt
A Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania) nonpartisan analysis states, “federal college student loan debt will cost between $300 billion and $980 billion over the 10-year budget window, depending on program details.”
In addition, the analysis found that “about 70 percent of debt relief accrues to borrowers in the top 60 percent of the income distribution.”
