In a bipartisan 52-46 vote, the Senate passed H.J. Res. 45, the Cassidy Student Loan Waivers CRA, which would overturn President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.
Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin, W.Va., and Jon Tester, Mont., joined every Republican to undo Biden’s proposal.
As did Arizona’s independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. The White House has vowed to veto the GOP-led resolution.
A veto would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override. However, the plan’s survival remains under consideration by the conservative-leaning Supreme Court. Justices expressed skepticism of it during recent oral arguments.
The Hill reports:
As a Congressional Review Act (CRA) measure, only 50 votes were required instead of the usual 60 to overcome a filibuster.
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While student debt forgiveness has strong support among progressives, its bicameral rejection would not have been possible without help from moderate Democrats.
In a statement, Manchin said the nation “simply cannot afford to add another $400 billion to the national debt.”
“There are already more than 50 existing student loan repayment and forgiveness programs aimed at attracting individuals to vital service jobs, such as teachers, health care workers, and public servants. This Biden proposal undermines these programs and forces hard-working taxpayers who already paid off their loans or did not got to college to shoulder the cost,” he said.
Besides its cost, opponents argue Biden’s proposal is unconstitutional and fundamentally unjust to shift student loan burdens onto Americans who chose not to incur debt.
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