[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 142 (Tuesday, September 5, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S3876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Student Loans

  Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, today I introduced the Congressional 
Review Act, a resolution of disapproval to overturn the Biden 
administration's newest student loan scheme: income-driven repayment. 
Just like President Biden's student loan cancellation scheme that was 
overturned by the Supreme Court, this policy does not forgive debt, it 
transfers the burden of almost $560 billion in Federal student loans 
from those who willingly took out the loans for college to make more 
money when they graduated to Americans who never attended college or 
who have already fulfilled their commitment to pay off their loans.
  Under this rule, a majority of bachelor's degree student loan 
borrowers will not be expected to even pay back the principal. We have 
moved beyond forgiving the interest, and we are now not even asking 
them to pay back the principal.
  Additionally, 91 percent of new student loan debt would be eligible 
for reduced payments subsidized by taxpayers. These policies are as 
unfair as they are irresponsible. Where is the forgiveness for the guy 
who didn't go to college but is working to pay off the loan on the 
truck that he takes to work?
  What about the woman who paid off her student loans but now struggles 
to pay her utilities or her mortgage? Is the administration providing 
her relief? Of course not. Instead, the administration would have them 
not only pay their bills but the bills of those who decided to go to 
college in order to get a degree to make more money.
  The resolution prevents average Americans, 80 percent of whom have no 
student loans, from being stuck with a policy that the administration 
is pushing not to be fair to all but rather to favor a few. The Supreme 
Court has already established the President does not have the authority 
to cancel hundreds of billions in student loans without direct consent 
from Congress. It is clear President Biden is trying to deflect the 
political fallout of the false promises that he never had the legal 
authority to make.
  President Biden's plan did nothing to address the problems that 
created the debt in the first place. It doesn't hold colleges or 
universities accountable for rising costs. According to the College 
Board, in the last 30 years, tuitions and fees have jumped in private 
nonprofit colleges by 80 percent. At public 4-year institutions, they 
jumped 124 percent. The Biden administration has refused to propose any 
solution that actually addresses the underlying problems that created 
the debt crisis in the first place.
  We cannot spend our way out of the problem of the ever-increasing 
costs of higher education. We need real solutions. That is why my 
colleagues and I introduced the Lowering Education Costs and Debt Act, 
a package of five bills aimed at directly addressing the issues driving 
skyrocketing costs of higher education and the increasing amounts of 
debt students take on to attend school.
  Our legislation puts downward pressure on tuition, empowering 
students to make the educational decisions that put them on track to 
academically and financially succeed. It also simplifies the student 
loan borrowing and repayment process so students don't take out more 
loans than they need and can navigate the student loan process without 
confusion. Unlike President Biden's student loan schemes, these are 
commonsense solutions that actually address root causes of the student 
loan crisis. In fact, some of the bills included in the package already 
have strong bipartisan support.
  President Biden's student loan scheme is not a fix; it is merely a 
bandaid forcing taxpayers to shoulder the responsibility of paying off 
someone else's debt. We need strong leadership.
  President Biden's failure to address rising tuition costs won't hurt 
the rich; only the middle- and lower-income Americans who will continue 
to be punished, forced to take out more and more loans just to get an 
education.
  I will close by urging all my colleagues to support my Congressional 
Review Act resolution to prevent President Biden's reckless student 
loan scheme and to work together on real solutions to tackle the rising 
cost and debt of students. If we don't act, students will continue to 
drown in debt without a path for success.
  (Mr. MARKEY assumed the Chair.)