Wasginton, D.C- President Joe Biden continued attempts to forgive student debt as he pardoned over 804,000 borrowers late last week.
The Department of Education published a statement outlining the “total of $39 billion in Federal student loans that will be automatically discharged in the coming weeks.”
President Biden had previously attempted to nullify student debt to no avail. The Supreme Court banned Biden’s earlier plan for exceeding the Executive Branch’s authority. Specifically, Biden had attempted to exploit the HEROES act to execute his loan forgiveness plan. The court ultimately ruled such act could not be harnessed to cancel general student debt.
In response, Biden is exploiting the Higher Education Act and the Department of Education’s regulations to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling. Under Biden’s new plan, a borrower is eligible for forgiveness after making 240 or 300 monthly payments—the equivalent of 20 or 25 years of payments.
Republicans who lauded the court’s kneecapping of the initial loan forgiveness plan have criticized Biden’s novel initiative. Critics state the financial, ethical, and political concerns plaguing the antecedent plan are present in the new one.
Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida expressed his renewed disdain for Biden’s attempted loan forgiveness comeback. “What (Biden’s) doing is dictatorial & should not be tolerated,” stated Congressman Donalds.
Biden’s student loan bailout on Friday was again unconstitutional.
He's playing "catch me if you can" with our political system & courts-This is outrageous.
The constitution never authorized a president to act this way.
What he's doing is dictatorial & should not be tolerated. pic.twitter.com/authmFwlPO
— Congressman Byron Donalds (@RepDonaldsPress) July 16, 2023
Formal legal challenges have not been filed against Biden’s new plan. However, Republicans are expected to use any and all legal avenues available to undercut what Donalds has described as a “student loan bailout”.
Biden’s $39B student loan bailout on Friday:
💸Is a backdoor stimulus
💸Hurts ability to issue future loans
💸Encourages carelessness in repayment
💸Creates a serious moral hazardWe cannot have a process where Biden simply erases billions of dollars in debt with a pen & phone. pic.twitter.com/iZp1ham1G7
— Congressman Byron Donalds (@RepDonaldsPress) July 16, 2023
Meanwhile, Democrats are supporting Biden’s persistent commitment to fulfilling his loan forgiveness promises. “This is a big deal —bringing President Biden’s total forgiveness to $116.6 billion”, remarked the Democrat Party’s official Twitter.
This is a big deal—bringing President Biden’s total forgiveness to $116.6 billion. pic.twitter.com/Mj4Zf6XnKN
— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) July 14, 2023
