Sen. Johnson Joins Ranking Member Cassidy and Colleagues In Introducing CRA to Overturn Biden’s Newest Student Loan Scheme
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), along with Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), and 17 Republican colleagues introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to overturn President Biden’s reckless income-driven repayment (IDR) rule, which will cost taxpayers as much as $559 billion over the next 10 years. On June 30th, President Biden announced the final IDR rule following the U.S. Supreme Court?ruling that overturned his illegal student debt scheme that attempted to transfer hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt onto taxpayers.
“President Biden’s latest income-driven student loan scheme transfers $559 billion onto the backs of taxpayers and is grossly unfair to families who did not send their kids to college and to those who paid off their student debt. I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join us in halting this unfair policy,” said Senator Johnson.
Sens. Johnson and Cassidy are joined by Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), John Thune (R-S.D.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), James Risch (R-Idaho.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
The IDR rule:
- Reduces monthly payments from 10% to 5% of an undergraduate borrowers’ discretionary income.
- Raises the assumed amount of expenses to 225% of the Federal Poverty Line from 150%, increasing the likelihood that a borrower would have an expected loan payment of zero.
- An individual would need an income above $32,805 before being expected to pay anything.
- Stops charging unpaid monthly interest. Currently, if a monthly payment does not fully cover accrued interest, half of the remaining interest accrual is added to the balance of the loan.
- Reduces the maximum time period necessary for loan forgiveness from 20 years to 10 years for borrowers with loan balances of $12,000 or less.
- Lacks any guardrails to prevent households making over $250,000 a year from collecting taxpayer-funded assistance if they file taxes separately.
