On Thursday, the Senate passed a measure overturning President Biden’s student debt relief plan that would give 40 million borrowers up to $20,000 in loan forgiveness. The Hill reports that the measure was passed in a 52-46 vote, but will likely be vetoed once it gets to President Biden. While opponents of student loan forgiveness cited the unfair treatment and a negative economic impact, those in favor of it fear that it may be too soon for borrowers to return to payments since the pandemic pause.
Although the Senate has a Democrat majority, moderate Democrats shared concerns that Biden’s student loan forgiveness would add too much to the national debt. Citing other issues with student loan forgiveness, Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) said, “there are already more than 50 existing student loan repayment and forgiveness programs aimed at attracting individuals to vital service jobs, such as teachers, health care workers, and public servants. This Biden proposal undermines these programs and forces hard-working taxpayers who already paid off their loans or did not got to college to shoulder the cost.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) also argued the point that student loan forgiveness is not fair to Americans. Cassidy said, “our resolution prevents average Americans, 87 percent of whom currently have no student loans, from being stuck with a policy that the administration is doing not to be fair to all, but rather to favor the few.”
With Biden’s student loan forgiveness estimated to cost the nation $400 billion, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that overturning the measure would reduce the deficit by $320 billion over the course of ten years. Despite the Senate passing the measure to put an end to student loan forgiveness and require payments be made, President Biden is expected to veto it once it gets to his desk, and a two-thirds majority to override his veto is unlikely.