Joe Biden and his administration’s efforts to forgive billions in student loans for millions of American borrowers have so far managed to blindside Republicans, despite their long-standing opposition.
On Wednesday, a GOP-backed plan to pass a resolution to overturn Biden’s new student loans income-driven repayment (IDR) plan failed to pass the Senate, falling short of one vote. A total of 48 Republicans and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia voted in support of the resolution, the Congressional Review Act (CRA), but a minimum of 50 votes was needed to overturn Biden’s IDR plan. The final tally on Wednesday was 50 to 49. Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina did not vote.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment by email on Friday.
It was the latest success for the Biden administration. It has continued trying to alleviate the debt of student-loan borrowers, despite the huge setback suffered in June, when the Supreme Court struck down the president’s initial, wider forgiveness plan.
The plan was immediately opposed by a majority of Republican lawmakers. They argued that forgiving the debt for millions of American borrowers was unfair to those who have already paid off theirs.
In a 6-to-3 decision in June, the Supreme Court justices ruled that the president did not have the authority to cancel that amount of debt—which, in Biden’s original plans, would have included $10,000 in relief to each ex-student borrower, and $20,000 for some of those from low-income backgrounds.
But, in early October, Biden announced the approval of an additional $9 billion in student debt relief to the benefit of 125,000 borrowers, only days after federal student debt repayments resumed following a break of over three years during the pandemic. The freezing of payment was first introduced by the Donald Trump administration in March 2020.
The average household student-loan payment is about $200 to $300 a month, representing about 5 percent of the median American salary, according to Wells Fargo economists.
In late October, the U.S. Department of Education announced that the Biden administration was planning a narrower student-loan forgiveness plan. This would focus on specific groups of borrowers who are seen as especially vulnerable and experiencing hardship, including those facing soaring interest payments and earning little income.
STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
Earlier this month, the Department of Education said it was planning to hold accountable student-loan services that fall short in their duties, including by withholding payments when loan services fail to provide top-notch service.
Republicans have criticized the cost of Biden’s new plan, saying it will total $559 billion of taxpayers’ money and would make those who never went to school or already paid for their debt pay that of others.
The Department of Education said that the Biden administration has managed to wipe away $127 billion in student-loan debt, despite its sweeping, original plan being struck down by the Supreme Court and Republicans fighting it every step of the way.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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