Ranking Member Cassidy Delivers Floor Speech on CRA to Overturn President Biden’s Newest Student Loan Scheme
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, spoke on the U.S. Senate floor ahead of a vote on his Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn President Biden’s new income-driven repayment (IDR) rule, which will result in a majority of bachelor’s degree student loan borrowers not having to pay back even the principal on their loans, costing taxpayers as much as $559 billion. Earlier this year, Cassidy introduced the CRA resolution with U.S. Senators John Thune (R-SD) and John Cornyn (R-TX).
On June 30th, President Biden announced the final IDR rule following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to block his illegal student debt scheme that attempted to transfer hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt onto taxpayers.
“Just like Biden’s original student debt cancelation scheme, this IDR rule does not ‘forgive’ debt,” said Dr. Cassidy. “It transfers the burden of $559 billion in federal student loans to the 87 percent of Americans who don’t have student loans, who chose not to go to college, or already responsibly paid off their debts.”
“President Biden’s student loan scheme is not a fix. It is a politically motivated giveaway that forces taxpayers to shoulder the responsibility of paying off someone else’s debt. We need real leadership to address this issue,” continued Dr. Cassidy.
Additionally, Cassidy highlighted his Lowering Education Costs and Debt Act, a package of five bills aimed at directly addressing the issues driving the skyrocketing cost of higher education and the increasing amounts of debt students take on to attend school.
Click here to watch Cassidy’s full speech.
Cassidy’s speech as prepared for delivery can be found below:
Madam President,
The Senate will soon vote on the Congressional Review Act, Resolution of Disapproval to overturn President Biden’s newest student loan scheme.
Just like Biden’s original student debt cancelation scheme, this IDR rule does not “forgive” debt. It transfers the burden of $559 billion in federal student loans to the 87 percent of Americans who don’t have student loans, who chose not to go to college, or already responsibly paid off their debts.
Under this rule, a majority of bachelor’s degree student loan borrowers will not be expected to pay back even the principal on their loans. Additionally, 91 percent of new student debt would be eligible for reduced payments, subsidized by the taxpayers.
Aside from being unfair, Biden’s student loan cancelation scheme does not address the root causes that created the debt in the first place. For example, he does not hold colleges or universities accountable for rising costs. In the last 30 years, tuition and fees have jumped at private non-profit colleges by 80 percent. At public four-year institutions, they’ve jumped by 124 percent.
College is one of the largest financial investments many Americans make, but there is little information for students to know they are making the right decision for the amount they are borrowing.
Some of my Republican colleagues and I recently introduced the Lowering Education Costs and Debt Act, a package of five bills aimed at directly addressing the issues driving the skyrocketing cost of higher education and the increasing amounts of debt students take on to attend school.
Our legislation puts downward pressure on tuition and empowers students to make the educational decisions that put them on track to academically and financially succeed.
We are providing solutions for students and working to solve the student debt crisis. Not a Band-Aid that sticks someone else with the bill.
President Biden’s student loan scheme is not a fix. It is a politically motivated giveaway that forces taxpayers to shoulder the responsibility of paying off someone else’s debt. We need real leadership to address this issue.
I will close by encouraging all my colleagues to join me in voting to pass this Congressional Review Act resolution to prevent this unfair student debt cancelation scheme. It is unfair to the hundreds of millions of Americans who will bear the burden of paying off hundreds of billions of dollars of someone else's student debt.
Thank you.
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