Bill Cassidy - Ranking Member of the Senate HELP Committee | Official U.S. Senate headshot
Bill Cassidy - Ranking Member of the Senate HELP Committee | Official U.S. Senate headshot
On August 5, 2024, a group of U.S. Senators introduced the Student Loan Accountability Act in an effort to prevent the Biden-Harris administration from transferring student loan debt onto taxpayers. The legislation was brought forward by Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Thom Tillis (R-NC).
The bill aims to counteract policies that could result in up to $1.4 trillion in taxpayer costs due to total student debt cancellation proposed by the Biden-Harris administration. According to the senators, these policies have led to higher inflation and unfairly penalize individuals who either did not attend college or paid off their loans.
“The Biden-Harris student loan schemes do not ‘forgive’ debt. They transfer the burden from those who willingly took out the loans onto Americans who chose not to go to college or already sacrificed to pay off their loans,” stated Dr. Cassidy. “These schemes are nothing more than an attempt to buy votes before an election at the expense of taxpayers.”
Senator Romney added, “Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling last summer that President Biden’s student loan forgiveness proposal was unconstitutional, the White House continues to cancel student loans and publicly entertain additional cancellation policies.” He described these actions as "morally questionable" and fiscally reckless.
Senator Scott criticized the plan as "misguided," "unconstitutional," and economically regressive, stating it unfairly burdens taxpayers with others' educational expenses.
Senator Tillis echoed these sentiments: “President Biden’s illegal student loan cancellation plan is not only unfair for millions who have worked hard and sacrificed but also imposes undue financial responsibility on those without any student loans.”
The proposed legislation seeks to prohibit federal departments from taking actions that would cancel or forgive outstanding balances of covered loans while allowing exemptions for existing targeted federal programs such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Teacher Loan Forgiveness.
The senators argue that cancelling student loan debt increases inflation rates, adds significantly to national debt, and fails to address underlying issues related to rising education costs.
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