Foxx measure would overturn Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan

Congresswoman and House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC5) and Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) introduced legislation Tuesday that would repeal President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan that would cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

The Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution would overturn Biden’s “reckless” income-driven repayment (IDR) rule—known as “Savings on a Valuable Education (SAVE)” plan, which would pass on the debt to taxpayers to the tune of $559 billion, according to the House Committee’s press release, making it the costliest regulation in U.S. history. 

“The only difference between President Biden and a snake oil salesman is a title,” Foxx and McClain said in the release. “Biden’s administration knows what it’s doing is illegal, but it’s pushing forward anyway, promoting its SAVE scheme as a solution to America’s broken student loan system. In reality, the SAVE scheme is a desperate effort to curry favor and buy votes ahead of the next election.”

The pair said that future borrowers will take on loans expecting forgiveness, which will lead to schools raising tuition rates. 

 Republicans, they say, have real solutions to the student loan issue, including the Federal Assistance to Initiate Repayment (FAIR) Act, which would “end the Biden administration’s student loan scam, simplifies the repayment process, and ensures a smooth transition back to repayment.” 

Foxx, McClain, and Burgess Owens (R-UT) introduced the FAIR Act in June.

Foxx was first critical of the SAVE plan in July after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the administration’s previous student debt plan in Biden v. Nebraska. In a 6-3 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts opined that the administration had no legal authority to forgive student loan debt unilaterally and must seek Congressional approval. 

“The Biden administration’s blatantly political attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court is shameful. The Biden administration is trampling the rule of law, hurting borrowers, and abusing taxpayers to chase headlines,” said Foxx.

“Biden’s student loan scam is far from over. From day one, this administration has encouraged borrowers not to repay their loans and has expected taxpayers to foot the bill. Today’s celebration of counting no payments as payments is just the latest example of the ongoing delusion at the White House,” she added.

U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, John Thune (R-SD), and John Cornyn (R-TX), introduced the companion CRA resolution in the U.S. North Carolina Republican senators, Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, also signed onto the legislation.

“The Biden administration’s continued attempts to cancel student loan debt is an affront to the millions of borrowers who responsibly repaid their loan balances, and the millions of taxpayers who don’t have a college degree and would be forced to subsidize the loans of others,” Budd said in a press release. “This rule should be overturned, and I’m proud to join Dr. Cassidy’s effort to do just that.”