WASHINGTON – Wednesday, Senator Mike Braun, joined Senators Rick Scott, Cynthia Lummis, and John Barrasso in introducing legislation to prevent the Biden administration from enacting an overreaching, fiscally irresponsible blanket cancellation of student loans. The Debt Cancellation Accountability Act will require the U.S. Department of Education to obtain an express appropriation from Congress to pay for any federal student loan debts the Department proposes to waive, discharge, or otherwise reduce whenever granted to two or more borrowers in an amount greater than $1,000,000, rather than on a case-by-case basis.
“The Biden administration’s plan to ‘cancel’ millions in student loans will shift the debt of disproportionally higher-earning borrowers onto every American. This blatant wealth redistribution will only make inflation worse at a time when millions of Americans are already feeling the burden of record-high inflation. I’m glad to join Senator Scott on the Debt Cancellation Accountability Act to prevent the Biden administration from this executive overreach,” said Senator Mike Braun.
“The Biden administration’s latest move to cancel millions of dollars in student loans is yet another example of how far it will go to appease the radical left. The reality is, that blanket forgiveness of student loans only benefits a small percentage of the population at the expense of millions of other hardworking Americans. Those who have saved to pay for the education they chose to get, or have no debt at all because they chose a valuable career that doesn’t require a college degree, shouldn’t be on the hook to bail out folks that voluntarily took on debt and now want someone else to pay for it. That’s not how the real world works. Our legislation, the Debt Cancellation Accountability Act, will hold this administration accountable to American taxpayers by requiring Congressional approval for any mass cancellation of student debt. When I was governor of Florida, we focused on solving the real problem behind massive student loan debt: the rising cost of higher education. Biden should do the same,” said Senator Rick Scott.
“Not only is the United States drowning in more than $30 trillion of debt, but the Biden Administration keeps coming up with ideas to put us further in the hole. A bailout of student loan debt would make skyrocketing inflation worse while only helping mostly upper-middle-class Americans instead of lower-income earners as progressives claim. I appreciate Senator Rick Scott’s dedication to calling out this reckless plan, and I am happy to join him in advocating for fiscally sound decisions,” said Senator Cynthia Lummis.
“President Biden’s attempts to unilaterally waive millions of dollars in student loans is another appeal to the radical left-wing of his party. This move undercuts Americans who have worked hard to responsibly pay off their student debt. At a time when families are feeling the pain of high prices, the president’s proposal will only make inflation worse. Our bill will hold the administration accountable and make sure taxpayers are not stuck paying other people’s student loan debt,” said Senator John Barrasso.
BACKGROUND
In April, Senator Braun introduced the Stop Reckless Student Loan Actions Act with Sens. John Thune, Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, and Roger Marshall to end President Biden’s untargeted, budget-busting suspension of repayments on qualifying federal student loans, following 24 months of non-payment and six executive actions extending the payment pause.
