WASHINGTON – Senator Mike Braun took to the Senate floor to speak about President Biden’s possibly $1 trillion student loan debt transfer, and in support of Senator Rick Scott’s bill to affirm that President Biden does not have the authority to transfer this debt without Congressional approval.
Senator Braun’s remarks:
President Biden’s student loan debt transfer does not “cancel” or “forgive” anything.
These debts will still be paid.
He simply shifted the costs of repayment onto everyone, including the 65% of American workers who chose not to pursue a degree.
This will make inflation worse, and grow our deficit.
We should focus on getting more value out of colleges rather than giving them another reason to hike prices.
With a national debt of nearly $31 trillion, we can’t continue to pile on more debt.
Today, Federal Student Aid owns $1.6 trillion in outstanding federal assets.
The loan program needs to be completely redone so that colleges are motivated to lower costs.
Finally, President Biden’s actions are illegal in the first place.
The President does not have the authority to cancel all this debt.
Even Speaker Pelosi agreed on this point.
This is why I support the Debt Cancellation Accountability Act, which requires the Department of Education to get express appropriation from Congress to pay for any federal student loans the Department proposes to waive, discharge, or reduce.
