WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Congresswoman Lisa McClain (R-MI) introduced the Pay Back Act to prohibit the Secretary of Education, Secretary of Treasury, and Attorney General from cancelling student loans or cancelling the terms of loans unless expressly permitted by Congress.
“President Biden has used his Administration as a battering ram to buy loyalty through the forgiveness or cancellation of student loans” said Rep. McClain. “This is executive overreach at its worst, and I will not stand for it any longer. It’s time this President and his cabinet are held accountable and stop sidestepping Congress to enact their radical agenda. The People’s House has the legislating authority in this country, Joe Biden’s pen does not.”
Background:
The Pay Back Act prohibits the Secretary of Education, Secretary of the Treasury, and the Attorney General from cancelling student loans or cancelling the terms of said loans except as expressly permitted by an Act of Congress enacted after the enactment of this bill.
President Biden has been set on side stepping Congress’s power of the purse in his pursuit for a blanket forgiveness of student loans. The President’s initial plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt would have cost taxpayers $400 billion according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office. In Biden v. Nebraska, the Supreme Court found that the President did not have the legal authority for a “mass debt cancellation program” without “clear congressional authorization.”
Despite clear direction from the Supreme Court, the Administration announced a new plan to forgive $39 billion for 804,000 borrowers through changes to the Income-Driven Repayment plans.
More information can be found here.
