President Biden is persistently pursuing a course of action that has faced significant resistance. The Senate has rejected his proposal to cancel student debt, as it would unfairly burden taxpayers who never attended college while benefiting college graduates who refuse to repay their loans. Moreover, public opinion polls indicate widespread objection to this notion.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court is expected to declare that Biden lacks the constitutional authority to cancel student debt and shift the financial responsibility onto taxpayers. Despite these obstacles, Biden continues to cater to the demands of far-left politicians like Bernie Sanders and AOC by exploring alternative plans.
Biden’s Department of Education is leveraging a class-action lawsuit to achieve federal student loan bailouts indirectly. Members of Congress have valid concerns about the DOE’s motives for settling this lawsuit, as it could impose a minimum of $6 billion in costs on American taxpayers and potentially bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling, leading to additional financial burdens. In 2018, students initiated a class-action lawsuit against the DOE, alleging that it neglected their loan forgiveness applications for a federal program designed to cancel student loan debt for graduates who claim they were misled or defrauded by their universities.
Initially, the lawsuit sought relief by urging the DOE to address the backlog of claims individually, as required by statutory law. However, the proposed settlement goes far beyond the original relief request, offering mass student loan forgiveness to 200,000 borrowers, totaling $6 billion.
The settlement in the lawsuit has transformed from a case urging the DOE to fulfill its obligation of processing claims into a potential workaround if Biden’s student loan bailout plan fails to receive Supreme Court approval. Congress members are worried that the DOE is engaging in political maneuvering with taxpayer money. The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce are raising questions about the DOE’s motives for settling a lawsuit that could burden American taxpayers with a multibillion-dollar bailout.
In a recent letter, Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.) and Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) suggest that political considerations and conflicts of interest may have influenced the settlement. The letter also implies that if the Supreme Court rejects Biden’s student bailout plan, his administration might utilize the lawsuit as legal justification to implement a new program for mass loan dismissals, thereby “hijacking the court system to enact a radical student loan cancellation agenda.”
However, President Biden lacks the authority to enact such sweeping loan dismissals. The power of the purse lies with Congress, and it should be the sole governmental entity making decisions that heavily impact American taxpayers burdened with debt. To address this issue, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) introduced a bill that would prevent class-based forgiveness for federal student loans without Congress’s explicit appropriation.
Biden’s overreach on student loans has garnered attention from many members of Congress. The House and Senate have displayed bipartisan opposition to President Biden’s student debt relief program, voting to nullify the freeze on federal student loan payments and interest.
Predictably, Biden disregarded Congress and vetoed the joint resolution of disapproval. Furthermore, the recently enacted bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act includes a provision prohibiting the DOE from extending the pause on student loan payments beyond sixty days after June 30. Both Democrats and Republicans support resuming student loan payments.
Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan has not received widespread support from the American public, with voters divided on the issue. A recent poll indicates that less than half of Americans support Biden’s forgiveness plan “in its current form.” This lack of support is unsurprising, considering the plan could cost taxpayers approximately $400 billion.
Biden’s student loan bailouts are burdening American taxpayers with billions of dollars.