WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – Congressional Republicans want to pass a measure on Wednesday to block President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan – however, the measure is unlikely to go anywhere in the Senate.
House Republicans say they’ve been working to block student loan forgiveness since the day President Biden announced his plans.
“This is a professional-class bail out,” Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said. “Student loan cancellation is regressive… it takes from those in the lower half and gives to the upper half. It redistributes wealth.”
Representative Bob Good (R-VA) added, “student loan cancellation doesn’t make the debt actually go away, it simply shifts the cost from the student loan borrower and transfers it to hard-working American taxpayers.”
But Democrats say Republicans are misrepresenting the plan to forgive up to $10,000 in debt for some borrowers and up to $20,0000 for those who received Pell grants.
California Democratic Representative Robert Garcia noted how the loan forgiveness could help people of color and people facing economic hardship.
“Billionaires are not burdened with student debt. Working class people are…student loan debt also disproportionately impacts people of color, low-income students,” Rep. Garcia said.
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) furthered, “ninety percent of the relief would go to borrowers earning less than $75,000 a year.”
The Biden administration says the program also helps more than just borrowers, as Under-Secretary of Education James Kvaal says the relief “will help strengthen the economy, encourage people to go to college, and have benefits for not just borrowers but also their families and communities.”
The Republican-led measure comes after the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that questions the legality of President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan earlier in 2023.
