S. J. Res. 43 would formally disapprove of a July 2023 Department of Education rule modifying Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plans for student-loan borrowers. This rule, unveiled shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Biden administration student loan-forgiveness plan in Biden v. Nebraska, would reduce the amount borrowers pay and make it easier to forgive loans held for 20 to 25 years. Speaking on the Senate floor, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) stated the rule “transfers the burden of $559 billion in Federal student loans to the 87 percent of Americans who don’t have student loans, who chose not to go to college, or who already responsibly paid off their debts.”
The Senate rejected S. J. Res. 43 on November 15, 2023 by a vote of 49 to 50 (Roll Call 310). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the federal government has no authority under the Constitution to subsidize or involve itself in higher education. Furthermore, the Department of Education’s rule merely transfers the cost of these unpaid loans to taxpayers, harming Americans and further eroding our nation’s fiscal situation.
