June 03, 2023
location_onWashington
The Senate on Thursday passed a bill that overturns the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan. The bill was approved with a vote of 52-46 after previously passing the House by a margin of 218-203. It is now set to be reviewed by President Joe Biden, who has vowed to veto the measure.
White House Press Secretary Katie Jean-Pierre says the student relief program is part of the president’s economic policy to make sure “we do not leave anybody behind.” Pierre claimed, “Ninety percent of the relief is going to go to Americans who make $75,000 or less.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer says, “The GOP attack on student debt relief is a slap in the face to 43M+ Americans.” He added, “We should help Americans with student debt, not make their problems worse.” Sen. Patty Murray says Republicans have ripped away relief millions of borrowers are counting on. She said it is unfair to punish Americans for “a broken loan system they got stuck with.”
Rep. Ayanna Pressley had also filed an amendment to the debt ceiling bill that would have preserved the student loan pause, She said, “The pause on student loan payments has been life-changing for families across the country. My amendment would strike the provisions from the McCarthy debt ceiling bill that force payments to resume on Sept 1.”
For his part, the Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has praised the Senate vote, saying “President Biden’s student loan socialism would shift hundreds of billions of dollars in debt from high earners who chose to incur it onto American taxpayers who did not.” He said senators had the chance to stop Biden’s plan.
