The House voted to pass the Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn the Biden administration’s student loan transfer program by a vote of 218 to 203 on May 24. The resolution passed with two Democrats joining 216 Republicans in favor of the measure.
The one-time student loan forgiveness program by the Biden administration faced a challenge from House Republicans who believed it was an irresponsible fiscal policy.
“President Biden’s student loan transfer scheme shifts hundreds of billions of dollars of payments from student loan borrowers onto the backs of the American people,” Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), the resolution’s sponsor, said in a press release sent to The Epoch Times.
“I am proud to lead the fight against President Biden’s reckless, unilateral, and unauthorized action that would unfairly penalize those who worked hard to pay off their loans or who never took them out in the first place. I am pleased that my Republican colleagues overwhelmingly supported my legislation on the House Floor.”
The vote came while the administration is still awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court on whether the proposal can be implemented. Lawmakers voted on the resolution to halt the forgiveness program and terminate the pandemic-related suspension of federal student loan payments.
The White House announced just days ago that if the measure made it to the president’s desk, he would veto it, supporting his own loan forgiveness program.
If Congress were to pass H.J. Res. 45, the President would veto it,“ the White House statement said. The administration asserts that the measure would ”weaken America’s middle class.”
In the policy statement, the administration outlined its justification for the student loan forgiveness program, saying: “Nearly 90 percent of the relief provided by the Department of Education would go to Americans earning less than $75,000 per year, and no relief would go to any individual or household in the top 5 percent of incomes.”
The White House responded to The Epoch Times’ request for comment, referring to Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s comments to reporters when she said Republicans’ plan to block the debt relief demonstrated the right’s values.