What happened: House Republicans passed a resolution to terminate President Biden’s policy to cancel student loan debt for millions of borrowers.
Who supported it: The resolution was supported by every Republican on the House Education and the Workforce Committee and introduced by Rep. Bob Good, R-Va.
What the program entails: Biden’s program would cancel up to $10,000 in student loans for people making less than $125,000 and up to $20,000 for students who received Pell Grants.
Cost of the program: The program was expected to cost the government more than $400 billion in lost debt repayment.
Democratic response: During committee debate, Democrats warned that voting down Biden’s student loan forgiveness program would strip away relief that millions of people are anticipating. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., stated that the resolution “seeks to deny all of these borrowers the relief they were promised.”
Republican response: Republicans dismissed the program as a radical attempt to redistribute wealth. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., added that graduate students hold most student loan debt, and that “President Biden is forcing the very people Democrats claim to care about…to pay someone else’s tuition bill.”
How the resolution was written: Good’s resolution was written under the Congressional Review Act, which lets Congress reject an executive branch policy as long as the House and Senate pass a resolution disapproving of that policy.
Likelihood of passing: While the resolution is expected to pass in the House, its passage in the Senate is unlikely, as Senate Democrat leaders support Biden’s plan.
Historical precedent: However, Congress has had some success fighting Biden administration policies using the Congressional Review Act, even though Democrats control the Senate. In March, for example, the Senate voted 53-43 to overturn a Biden regulation expanding the government’s ability to regulate water sources.
