[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 202 (Thursday, December 7, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H6720-H6724]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE 
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION RELATING TO ``IMPROVING INCOME DRIVEN REPAYMENT 
  FOR THE WILLIAM D. FORD FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN PROGRAM AND THE FEDERAL 
                 FAMILY EDUCATION LOAN (FFEL) PROGRAM''

  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 906, I call up 
the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 88) providing for congressional 
disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule 
submitted by the Department of Education relating to ``Improving Income 
Driven Repayment for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program 
and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program'', and ask for its 
immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 906, the joint 
resolution is considered read.
  The text of the joint resolution is as follows:

                              H.J. Res. 88

       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress 
     disapproves the rule submitted by the Department of Education 
     relating to ``Improving Income Driven Repayment for the 
     William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program and the Federal 
     Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program'' (88 Fed. Reg. 43820 
     (July 10, 2023)), and such rule shall have no force or 
     effect.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The joint resolution shall be debatable for 
1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority 
member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce or their 
respective designees.
  The gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) and the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Scott) each will control 30 minutes. The Chair recognizes 
the gentlewoman from North Carolina.


                             General Leave

  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.J. Res. 88, a Congressional 
Review Act resolution authored by Representative McClain of Michigan, 
that would bar the Biden administration from spending hundreds of 
billions of dollars by executive fiat.
  On June 30 of this year, mere hours after the Supreme Court 
decapitated the administration's previous student loan scheme, the 
Department of Education unveiled its so-called Savings on a Valuable 
Education (SAVE) plan. Despite its deceptive name, this is without 
question the most expensive regulation in our Nation's history.
  Mr. Speaker, how bad will the damage be? The Congressional Budget 
Office estimates this new IDR program will actually cost over $260 
billion over the next 10 years, over $100 billion more than what the 
Department was telling the American people.

[[Page H6721]]

  


                              {time}  0915

  But wait. There is more. Outside experts estimate the cost to be as 
much as $559 billion.
  Clearly, this is not a repayment plan, and Democrats have not been 
shy about their intentions for reshaping postsecondary education.
  Indeed, Democrats couldn't get their socialist free college fantasy 
through Congress, so they are attempting to shove it down the throats 
of Americans through the loan program by executive fiat.
  Mr. Speaker, millions of Americans are grasping their wallets at this 
news--and rightfully so. They have already been pummeled by inflation 
for months on end, and now they are staring down an avalanche of debt 
this country cannot afford that will surely bury them if Congress 
doesn't put an end to this madness.
  H.J. Res. 88 offers us the opportunity to send a clear signal to this 
administration that we will no longer tolerate a dictator in chief.
  Here is the simple truth: Money cannot be printed out of thin air 
without consequences. We should pass H.J. Res. 88 and put an end to 
this reckless use of taxpayer dollars.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.J. Res. 88, the Congressional 
Review Act on Saving on a Valuable Education plan.
  Last August, the Department of Education launched the SAVE plan, a 
new, generous, income-driven repayment, IDR, plan to significantly 
lower payments for many low-and moderate-income borrowers.
  Additionally, if borrowers make their full payment but their full 
required payment is not enough to cover the accrued interest, the 
government covers the rest of the interest. This means that the SAVE 
plan eliminates the indignity of balances growing due to unpaid 
interest.
  The improved application allows borrowers to have their income 
securely assessed through the Internal Revenue Service so that they 
don't have to recertify their incomes every year.
  Finally, repealing the SAVE plan would be extremely disruptive for 
millions of Americans enrolled in this program.
  In fact, the Department reported last month that 5.5 million 
borrowers have already enrolled in the program, including nearly 18,000 
borrowers in my district and about 8,600 in the district represented by 
the gentlewoman from North Carolina. They are already enjoying the 
improvements in the plan and the lower payments.
  Mr. Speaker, we are responsible for strengthening support for those 
seeking a college degree, not just because everyone should be forced to 
get one, but because those who want a college degree should have access 
to that opportunity.
  As President Johnson noted when he signed the Higher Education Act 
into law in 1965, he said that it meant that a high school senior 
anywhere in this great land of ours can apply to any college or 
university in any of the 50 States and not be turned away because the 
family is poor.
  Repealing the SAVE plan does nothing to make higher education more 
affordable or accessible, and for that reason, Mr. Speaker, I oppose 
the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Michigan (Mrs. McClain).
  Mrs. McCLAIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Foxx for yielding time.
  I want to remind the American people that every time someone says the 
government pays, the government will pay, it is not the government 
because the government doesn't produce anything.
  When they refer to the government, they refer to you, the American 
taxpayer, will pay. The government doesn't pay. The American taxpayer 
pays.
  I want to clear that up just to make sure every time we hear the 
government will pay, that is really the hardworking American people. 
The government is just choosing how they spend the American taxpayers' 
money.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this H.J. Res. 88, a Congressional 
Review Act resolution of disapproval I introduced to block President 
Biden's extreme student loan giveaway.
  This new regulation, ironically dubbed the SAVE plan, is the most 
expensive regulation in our Nation's history and is a backdoor attempt 
to ram the administration's socialist free college fantasy down the 
throats of hardworking taxpayers. It is their money.
  According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, this plan will cost as 
much as $559 billion over the next decade, far exceeding the price tag 
of the President's illegal student loan bailout ruled unconstitutional 
by the Supreme Court.
  Further, the Biden administration's plan would completely ruin our 
postsecondary education financing system, putting higher costs on 
taxpayers who never attended college in the first place.
  I can't buy a house. I choose not to buy a house, but my neighbor 
chooses to buy a house, and then I get to foot the bill. That is what 
this administration is asking us to sign up for unconstitutionally.
  Experts from across the political spectrum agree that Biden's income-
driven repayment plan makes repayment the exception instead of the 
norm.
  Just 2 in 10 undergraduate borrowers will fully repay their loans, 
and the average student will pay roughly half of what is borrowed from 
taxpayers in the first place.
  Not only does this plan shift the cost of loans from the borrower, 
the person who actually took out the loan, it shifts the cost to the 
person who never took the loan out to begin with, the hardworking 
taxpayer.
  It also will make college more expensive. Under the President's plan, 
colleges will continue to increase prices and force students to 
actually have to borrow more that they don't need to repay, knowing 
that this is ultimately the hardworking taxpayers who will foot 
the bill.

  The Congressional Budget Office even estimates that the SAVE plan 
will increase student borrowing by $100 billion over the next decade. 
Increasing costs by $100 billion--I am not sure what is saved.
  In other words, the President is forcing through the most expensive 
regulation in history, increasing prices to attend college--well, that 
doesn't make any sense--and then telling taxpayers, many of them who 
didn't attend college, or if they already did attend college, they get 
to pay off their loans and somebody else's loans. They need to 
subsidize the ones who went to college even if they didn't go to 
college. This is unfair and unconstitutional.
  The Biden administration is more concerned with scoring political 
points with his base through executive rule than actually fixing the 
student loan issue.
  Republicans actually have a plan, one that is fiscally responsible 
like the FAIR Act that I introduced with Representative Owens and 
Chairman Foxx, that would actually fix the Democrat-created problems 
with our loan repayment system.
  President Biden has attempted to write off as much as $1 trillion of 
student loans since taking office without congressional approval.
  It is clear that President Biden and the unelected bureaucrats he has 
put in power have no respect for the hardworking taxpayers that he is 
forcing to foot the bill time and time again.
  This administration has ignored the will of Congress and the Supreme 
Court, I might add, in his radical free college approach.
  The Supreme Court said enough. The Education and Workforce Committee 
said enough. Now it's time for the House to say enough.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.J. Res. 88, 
reaffirm Congress' constitutional power of the purse, and defend 
taxpayers across the country.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may 
consume to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. McBath).
  Mrs. McBATH. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Scott and his staff 
for their work on this issue.
  I rise today on behalf of the thousands of working families in my 
district who are struggling under the burden of seemingly endless 
student loan debt.

[[Page H6722]]

  A college credential continues to be the surest path to economic 
security, and we must help to make sure that every student, regardless 
of their background or their ZIP Code, has the resources necessary to 
achieve their dreams through education.
  That means setting our students up for success, not confining them to 
a lifetime of making payments that barely cover the interest on their 
loans.
  The American people who stand to be harmed by this bill are more than 
just numbers. They are not just statistics. These are real live human 
beings with real life experiences.
  I would remind my colleague, Mrs. McClain of Michigan, that in her 
district, there are at least 9,900 borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan, 
which will significantly lower their monthly payments.
  If Republicans succeed and this bill undoes the income-driven 
repayment plan, more than 5 million student loan borrowers enrolled in 
the plan will see their monthly payments go up.
  These are real people. They are nurses. They are engineers. They are 
teachers with families and mortgages and groceries that they need to 
buy who are going to lose the opportunity to pay off their loans in a 
way that really fits their budgets.
  The American people are tired of these empty and broken promises. 
They are tired of being asked to give more and more of themselves while 
it gets increasingly expensive to acquire the skills necessary just to 
make a decent living.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to oppose this bill.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.
  I think Mrs. McBath just made my argument for me. She said the 
American people are tired of being asked to give more, more, more.
  Well, in her district, she has almost 300,000 people without a 
bachelor's degree, and the cost per person for what the Biden 
administration is doing is $3,768.
  In Representative Scott's district, 355,000 have no bachelor's 
degree. They are being forced to cough up $3,768 for people who don't 
want to pay their bills.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Good).
  Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman for the 
time this morning.
  I rise today in support of H.J. Res. 88, a resolution that will 
nullify President Biden's irresponsible student loan repayment plan.
  It is no secret that President Biden wants to borrow and spend 
taxpayer dollars to force you and your children to pay for other 
people's education.

  Earlier this year, Biden vetoed my bipartisan resolution that 
nullified his student loan transfer scheme.
  Thankfully, the Supreme Court agreed with Congress that unilateral 
Federal spending for outright forgiveness by the President is 
unconstitutional.
  However, the administration lost no time in devising yet another 
scheme to transfer loan debt to taxpayers, this time under the guise of 
repayment.
  The Biden administration's new repayment scheme would permit even 
more graduates to contribute even less money to loan payments.
  These borrowers, who voluntarily took taxpayer money, will contribute 
just 5 percent of their monthly income to the loan.
  They can also be exempt from paying interest, and if enough time 
passes, the loan will be forgiven altogether or actually paid for by 
other Americans.
  The Biden administration sells this scheme by promising it will 
reduce many borrowers' loan payments to zero. However, the American 
taxpayer will foot the bill.
  I am reminded of October of 2020, the vote-buying scheme that was the 
previous student loan transfer scheme, transferring that debt to other 
Americans.
  Policies like this undermine personal responsibility and teach a 
generation to have little regard for the value of money.
  Thanks to Bidenflation, the dollar has far less buying power today 
than when he took office. Americans feel this at the grocery store, the 
gas pump, and when paying their rent and utility bills.
  Yet, this new scheme means that at least $276 billion in loans paid 
out to students will never be returned to the Treasury as promised.

                              {time}  0930

  As he overspends by $200 billion a month and drives us to $34 
trillion in debt, the President may personally be insulated from the 
impact of his reckless, wasteful borrowing and spending, but the 
American people are certainly suffering from his harmful policies.
  Many of my constituents paid their way through college or didn't go 
to college because they couldn't afford it, and they should not have to 
cover Biden's $276 billion in student loans.
  As Dr. Foxx said just a moment ago, my district also has an example. 
I have 293,000 individuals in my district who don't have a college 
degree, and they should not have to pay their share, $3,800 each, for 
this latest student loan transfer scheme by the President.
  Over the last 3 years, our government has nearly destroyed the 
student loan system by freezing payments, promising forgiveness, and 
changing loan terms. It has to stop. Americans cannot afford it.
  Mr. Speaker, we can help today by voting in favor of this 
legislation.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I remind my colleagues that in my colleague from 
Virginia's district, there are over 11,000 borrowers already enrolled 
in the SAVE Plan, which significantly lowered their monthly payments.
  I will quote from a letter that we received from the AFT, the 
American Federation of Teachers, which says, in part: ``For decades, 
students have been told that a college education is one of the most 
important vehicles to get ahead, but years of disinvestment and the 
actions of predatory loan servicers drastically tightened the shackles 
of debt, destroying students' budgets. And COVID-19 made that 
predicament far worse. Fortunately, the Biden administration stepped up 
with a plan to help student loan borrowers.''
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record this letter from AFT and another 
letter from the National Education Association.


                                                          AFT,

                                                 December 4, 2023.
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative: On behalf of the 1.7 million members 
     of the American Federation of Teachers, I strongly urge you 
     to reject H.J. Res. 88, a joint resolution providing for 
     congressional disapproval of the Saving on a Valuable 
     Education student loan repayment plan, the Biden 
     administration's improvements to income-driven repayment 
     plans.
       The SAVE plan is the most affordable student loan repayment 
     plan ever--and is sorely needed.
       For decades, students have been told that a college 
     education is one of the most important vehicles to get ahead, 
     but years of disinvestment and the actions of predatory loan 
     servicers drastically tightened the shackles of debt, 
     destroying students' budgets. And COVID-19 made that 
     predicament far worse. Fortunately, the Biden administration 
     stepped up with a plan to help student loan borrowers.
       Even as some members of Congress and outside groups have 
     moved to undermine efforts to achieve a more permanent 
     solution for the broken student loan system and its wide-
     ranging impacts, and have refused to move forward on bold 
     solutions to make college more affordable on the front end, 
     like free college, the president has recognized that there 
     must be a relief valve for those drowning in student loan 
     debt. We fully support the administration doing what is in 
     its power and building on the tool of income-driven repayment 
     to create the SAVE plan.
       This plan is the result of a thorough negotiated rulemaking 
     process and of the administration's commitment to helping 
     student loan borrowers who've had their lives derailed by 
     overwhelming student debt. Congress should be building on the 
     Biden administration's actions to make student loans 
     affordable, not undermining those actions.
       The SAVE plan will ensure that borrowers never see their 
     balance grow because of accruing interest, as long as they 
     keep up with their required payments; this is particularly 
     significant for public service workers, who all too often 
     nervously watch their balance balloon while working toward 
     Public Service Loan Forgiveness, even as they work hard to 
     make their monthly payments.
       The plan also cuts payments on undergraduate loans in half 
     (from 10 percent to 5 percent of a borrower's discretionary 
     income), updates the formula for determining a borrower's 
     discretionary income (to 225 percent of the federal poverty 
     guidelines based on family size), and provides a shorter time 
     to earn forgiveness (10-24 years) for those borrowers who've 
     carried low-balance loans for at least a decade.

[[Page H6723]]

       Tens of millions of families are struggling under the yoke 
     of $1.7 trillion in student debt, and Congress and the 
     administration must do all they can to provide a lifeline to 
     those drowning in student loans. The SAVE plan is an 
     important piece of that relief, which we fully support. This 
     resolution will show Americans which members of Congress are 
     going out of their way to support loading them up with 
     additional student debt. I urge you to reject this callous 
     resolution.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Randi Weingarten,
                       President, American Federation of Teachers.

                                                 December 5, 2023.
     Hon. Robert C. Scott,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Scott: On behalf of the National Education 
     Association's 3 million members and the 50 million students 
     they teach and support in public schools and colleges, we 
     urge you to vote NO on H.J. Res. 88, as the Senate has 
     already done. The resolution would use the Congressional 
     Review Act to overturn the Biden-Harris Administration's new 
     rule implementing the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) 
     Plan for federal student loan borrowers. Votes on this issue 
     may be included in the NEA Report Card for the 118th 
     Congress.
       Millions of borrowers--many of whom are facing significant 
     financial struggles--are coping with their first student 
     bills since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Consumer Financial 
     Protection Bureau found that about 1 in 5 borrowers has risk 
     factors that suggest they will struggle with the resumption 
     of payments. Income-driven repayment (IDR) plans are a key 
     safety net; borrowers enrolled in IDR plans default at much 
     lower rates than those in non-IDR plans. However, for too 
     many borrowers, these plans were not working well enough to 
     protect them from hardship. Many borrowers struggled to 
     navigate the bureaucratic hurdles of enrolling in and staying 
     enrolled in a plan. Even for those who were enrolled, their 
     monthly payments were often too high. In addition, due to 
     interest accrual, many borrowers watched their balances 
     balloon despite making on-time payments for years.
       NEA's 2021 report on student loan debt found that no 
     segment of the educator workforce is spared the burden of 
     student loan debt. Four out of 10 educators said struggling 
     to pay off their loans and financial worries about the loans 
     were negatively affecting their physical, mental, and 
     emotional well-being.
       The Biden-Harris administration created the SAVE Plan to 
     provide meaningful financial relief to borrowers and help 
     ease their transition back to repayment. More than 4 million 
     borrowers are already enrolled and tens of millions more, 
     including educators, are eligible. The SAVE Plan is crucial 
     for educators and other public sector workers, because being 
     enrolled in an IDR is an essential requirement for those 
     seeking Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
       The SAVE Plan targets benefits to low- and moderate-income 
     borrowers by lowering their monthly loan payments and 
     protecting more of their income--up to 225 percent of the 
     federal poverty level--to enable them to better cover basic 
     needs such as food, housing, and child care. It also ensures 
     that borrowers never see their balance grow as long as they 
     keep up with their required payments. The White House 
     estimates this change will mean that 85 percent of community 
     college borrowers will be debt-free within 10 years. That 
     would not only improve the lives and financial future of the 
     borrowers themselves; it has the potential to change the 
     trajectory for their entire families.
       Most Americans--even those without student loans--
     understand the severity of the student debt crisis and how it 
     affects those they love. Please vote NO on H.J. Res. 88 and 
     support the administration's efforts to protect millions of 
     current and future borrowers from financial harm.
           Sincerely,

                                                    Marc Egan,

                                 Director of Government Relations,
                                   National Education Association.

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Williams).
  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.J. 
Res. 88, which I am a cosponsor of.
  This Congressional Review Act would stop President Biden's radical 
SAVE Plan that alters the income-driven repayment program to redefine 
the vast majority of borrowers as financially distressed.
  It saves nothing. In fact, in my business, it is called false 
advertising, and costing the taxpayer an estimated $559 billion is 
effectively a loan cancellation program in disguise.
  Who is talking about the lenders? Who is talking about the people who 
loaned the money, the people of America?
  In June, President Biden's unconstitutional plan to cancel 
outstanding loan debt was struck down by the Supreme Court, which 
stated that the authority to cancel student loans lies with Congress 
and Congress only, not with President Biden.
  This latest plan by President Biden is yet another attempt to ignore 
the Supreme Court and sidestep Congress even after members of his own 
party have admitted the executive branch lacks the authority to do so.
  Yesterday, the President announced that his administration approved 
another $4.8 billion in student loan cancellation, bringing the current 
total to over $130 billion, basically sponsoring deadbeats.
  This is a slap in the face to the taxpayer, forcing the 87 percent of 
Americans who do not hold any Federal student loan debt and who have 
made sound financial decisions to foot the bill for those unwilling to 
pay off the debt they chose to rack up.
  What this administration refuses to admit to the American people is 
that this is not debt cancellation or debt forgiveness but a shift in 
responsibility from the borrowers to the pocketbooks of hardworking 
families.
  In Texas, where I come from, a deal is a deal. You pay your debt 
back, and a handshake still works.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.J. Res. 88 
and put a stop to this administration's unlawful attack on the American 
taxpayer. In God We Trust.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I remind my colleagues that in the gentleman from Texas' 
district, there are over 8,000 borrowers already enrolled in the SAVE 
Plan. They are already saving money, and the passage of this resolution 
would increase their monthly payments.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas 
(Mr. Pfluger).
  Mr. PFLUGER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman for her leadership 
on this.
  I rise in strong support of H.J. Res. 88 to block President Biden's 
taxpayer-funded student loan bailout.
  Here we go again. If you don't succeed, and the Supreme Court says it 
is not constitutional, well, let's find another way, find another 
mechanism.
  That is exactly what we are facing today.
  We are standing in the gap, Mr. Speaker. This rule unjustly imposes 
an excessive burden on hardworking American taxpayers, who should not 
be forced to shoulder the responsibility for student debt that is not 
their own.
  It is not a coincidence that on the same day the Supreme Court found 
the Biden administration's first attempt at loan forgiveness 
unconstitutional, the Department of Education announced this final rule 
to allow a majority of bachelor's degree student loan borrowers to 
avoid paying back even the principal on their loans.
  Let me be clear: This rule does not offer genuine debt forgiveness. 
Instead, it shifts the weight of $559 billion in Federal student loans 
onto the shoulders of almost 90 percent of Americans who don't have 
those student loans. This includes individuals who may earn 
significantly less than those who took out the loans in the first 
place.
  Rather than addressing the root causes of a student loan debt crisis, 
the administration would rather transfer the financial burden onto 
taxpayers, exacerbating our ongoing issues with inflation and 
contributing further to our staggering $33 trillion of national debt. 
This approach is not only flawed but fundamentally unfair to those who 
opted not to attend college, who diligently paid their own way through 
school, or who have already successfully paid off their own student 
loans.
  This is what the White House is pushing. By the way, they are also 
pushing dollars into institutions like Harvard, Penn, and other schools 
where, as we found out this week, the presidents can't even admit there 
are anti-Semitic, anti-Jewish hatred messages in their own institutions 
happening. They can't even admit it.
  As a Texan, I can confidently tell you that no hardworking 
constituent in my district wants to pay for any degree at Harvard using 
taxpayer money, certainly not ours. By the way, until the presidents of 
those universities acknowledge the anti-Jewish messages and hatred that 
has occurred on their college campuses, I urge Congress not to send 
another dollar of Federal money to any of those institutions.
  House Republicans are blocking the Biden administration's illogical 
and

[[Page H6724]]

unreasonable student bailout program, and I urge my colleagues to join 
me in this effort.
  Let's be clear: It is not fair and not American, and the Supreme 
Court has said it is unconstitutional that Americans should bear the 
burden of student loans that they did not incur themselves.
  Mr. Speaker, for that reason, I urge a strong stance on this, and I 
urge my colleagues to protect the hard-earned dollars of American 
taxpayers and prevent further financial strain.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I remind my colleagues that in the gentleman from Texas' 
district, over 6,600 borrowers have already enrolled in the SAVE Plan. 
They are already saving money, and the passage of this legislation 
would significantly increase their payments.
  Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, my Republican colleagues clamored and 
complained about President Biden's plan to provide debt relief for 
millions of borrowers. Now, House Republicans are trying to saddle 
millions of Americans and future borrowers with more debt by repealing 
the SAVE Plan, which has already significantly lowered monthly payments 
for many low- and middle-income borrowers.
  Repealing the SAVE Plan would cause significant disruption, but that 
seems to be the theme for my colleagues in this Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, it is imperative and important to know how we got into 
the student loan crisis. It was created because the buying power of the 
Pell grant has fallen dramatically over the years. Originally, it 
covered about 80 percent of the cost of the tuition, room and board at 
a State college. Now, it covers less than 30 percent. All of that cost 
has been shifted over to the students.
  The people who are debating today went to college when the Pell grant 
covered 80 percent, and you didn't have to take out a student loan. Now 
that we have shifted the cost to students, that is where the student 
loan problem comes from.
  The States are supporting a significantly lower portion, covering a 
lower portion of the cost of the college--again, putting more of the 
burden on students.
  We should be covering more of a percentage for students, and this is 
one of the ways to do that. By helping them pay their student loans, we 
can help pay their way through college.
  We should pass proposals to make college more affordable for current 
and future students, not less. That is what the Biden administration 
has been doing.
  We have heard complaints about the shift of this burden onto the 
taxpayer. I will tell you that we didn't hear any of that during the 
debate on the PPP loans, where businessmen got millions of dollars of 
PPP loans with handshakes and everything else and didn't have to pay 
them back. We didn't hear any complaints about that, about the people 
who didn't own businesses. Yet, when a student tries to get an 
education, all of a sudden, we can't help them pay their loans.
  We should be passing proposals to make college more affordable for 
these students and future students, yet here we are, wasting our time 
with passing this resolution. Everybody knows this isn't going 
anywhere.
  In fact, the Senate last month took up a similar proposal, and it 
didn't pass. Whatever happens here, it is not going to pass the Senate, 
and the President is going to veto it anyway.
  Again, the bottom line is that we are responsible for strengthening 
the support for those seeking a college degree, not because everybody 
should be forced to get one but because those who want a college 
education and to move up in life should be able to have access to that 
opportunity, not just the privileged few that can write the $50,000 a 
year checks.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose H.J. Res. 88, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, the Biden administration knows that its so-called SAVE 
Plan is illegal, yet it has no problem putting its foot on the gas 
pedal.
  As my colleague has admitted, this is helping them pay their way 
through college, which is what we have been saying. This is a radical 
plan by the Biden administration to pay for college expenses.
  Let's make one thing perfectly clear: The so-called SAVE Plan is the 
administration's game of ruling by executive decree and pinning the tab 
on the taxpayer. The Biden administration is transferring debt from 
those who willingly took it out to those who didn't have a chance to go 
to college. This is unfair.
  America's student loan system is broken, and this reckless, 
inflationary, and illegal expansion of executive authority will all but 
ensure it is doomed beyond repair.
  This plan isn't about helping borrowers, and it sure isn't protecting 
taxpayers. It is about an upcoming election and an administration dead 
set on using the executive pen to reshape our country. That is the 
stone-cold truth of this matter.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.J. Res. 88, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 906, the previous question is ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third 
reading of the joint resolution.
  The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third 
time, and was read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on passage of the joint 
resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

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