Republicans are pushing for student loan borrowers to be sidelined, even temporarily, as the White House looks at a broader cancellation of student loan debt. The Biden administration extended this month the repayment pause that began at the start of the pandemic until August 31st.
In a bill introduced Wednesday, a group of five Republican lawmakers moved to end President Biden’s ability to continue to extend the federal student loan payment pause.
The pause in student loans has saved millions of borrowers about $ 5 billion in interest a month, as interest rates have also been set at zero while payments were suspended. In all, it is estimated to have saved borrowers $ 195 billion since March 2020, according to a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The break was last established in early May. According to the Center for a Responsible Federal Budget, the extended break will add an additional $ 20 billion to the deficit through August, bringing the total cost of the break to $ 120 billion.
With the Stop Reckless Student Loan Actions Act, Republican senators are seeking to end President Biden’s suspension of federal student loan payments. It would also prohibit the president from canceling outstanding federal student loan debt due to a national emergency. It would still allow the president to temporarily suspend payments to low- and middle-income borrowers in future national emergencies.
“As Americans continue to return to the workforce more than two years after the pandemic began, it’s time for borrowers to resume paying off student debt obligations,” said Dakota Sen. John Thune of Dakota. from the South in a statement. “Taxpayers and working families should not be held liable for continuing to bear the costs associated with this return suspension.”
He said any future suspension of federal student loan repayments should be left to Congress.
GOP Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina said the administration “can’t do it either way”, both calling for a return to normalcy of the coronavirus pandemic while extending the pause of federal student loan payment. He said the reactivation of payments is “a long time ago, especially in today’s strong labor market.”
Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Roger Marshall of Kansas also support the bill.
While the legislation is not expected to go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled Congress, it is the last call by Republican lawmakers to end the federal student loan payment pause.
This comes as President Biden is considering a broader cancellation of student debt. In a meeting with members of the Hispanic caucus in Congress on Monday, Mr. Biden said yes seeking to forgive some federal student loan debt.
The president asked officials to investigate his legal authority to cancel the student loan debt last year, but no decision has been announced. Some Democrats have called for the administration to cancel a $ 10,000 debt, while others have called for it to cancel a $ 50,000 debt.
The White House said a decision would be made by the end of August on whether to cancel the debt or extend the break even further.
While the administration is considering canceling student loan debt, officials have also said they are looking at the root of the problem as to why higher education is so expensive. Some 43 million Americans have more than $ 1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt.
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