[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 99 (Wednesday, June 7, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H2775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE 
  DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION RELATING TO ``WAIVERS AND MODIFICATIONS OF 
FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS''--VETO MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED 
                      STATES (H. DOC. NO. 118-46)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore laid before the House the following veto 
message from the President of the United States:

To the House of Representatives:
  I am returning herewith without my approval H.J. Res. 45, a 
resolution that would disapprove of the Department of Education's rule 
relating to ``Waivers and Modifications of Federal Student Loans.''
  Since Day One, my Administration has been fighting to make college 
cheaper and the student loan system more manageable for borrowers. My 
Administration has championed the largest increase to Pell Grants in 
the last decade--a combined increase of $900 to the maximum award for 
students over the last 2 years--and has a plan to double the maximum 
Pell Grant by 2029 to nearly $13,000. This means more money in 
students' pockets to pay for college. To help individuals who had to 
borrow to go to college, my Administration has been building a student 
loan system that works. The Department of Education has proposed the 
most generous repayment plan ever, which will cut undergraduate loan 
payments in half. It has also reformed the Public Service Loan 
Forgiveness program to make it easier for hundreds of thousands of 
public service employees to get the debt relief they deserve.
  The pandemic was devastating for families across the Nation. To give 
borrowers the essential relief they need as they recover from the 
economic strains associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department 
of Education created a program to provide up to $10,000 in debt 
relief--and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients--reaching more than 
40 million hard-working Americans. Nearly 90 percent of this relief 
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 demand for this relief is undeniable. In less than 4 weeks--
during the period when the student debt relief application was 
available--26 million people applied or were deemed automatically 
eligible for relief. At least 16 million of those borrowers could have 
received debt relief already if it were not for meritless lawsuits 
waged by opponents of this program.
  The Department of Education's action is based on decades-old 
authority, granted by the Congress. Multiple administrations over the 
last two decades have used this authority, following the same 
procedures as my Administration, to protect borrowers from the effects 
of national emergencies and military deployments. The Department of 
Education's exercise of this authority has never previously been 
subject to the Congressional Review Act.
  It is a shame for working families across the country that lawmakers 
continue to pursue this unprecedented attempt to deny critical relief 
to millions of their own constituents, even as several of these same 
lawmakers have had tens of thousands of dollars of their own business 
loans forgiven by the Federal Government.
  I remain committed to continuing to make college affordable and 
providing this critical relief to borrowers as they work to recover 
from a once-in-a-century pandemic.
  Therefore, I am vetoing this resolution.
                                                   Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
                                         The White House, June 7, 2023.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The objections of the President will be 
spread at large upon the Journal, and the veto message and the bill 
will be printed as a House document.
  Mr. ARRINGTON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that further 
consideration of the veto message and the joint resolution, H.J. Res. 
45, be postponed until the legislative day of June 21, 2023.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.

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