Tuberville, Britt help repeal Biden’s student debt relief plan in Senate

Tuberville, Britt help repeal Biden’s student debt relief plan in Senate

Alabama’s U.S. senators voted on Thursday to overturn President Biden’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt per person, although the White House indicated the president will veto the bill.

The bill overturns Biden’s proposal to forgive up to $20,000 in loans for Pell Grant recipients with annual incomes below $125,000 for individuals and below $250,000 for married couples or heads of households. Those who did not receive Pell Grants but meet those income thresholds would see $10,000 of their federal student loan debt erased.

Sens. Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt, both Republicans, co-sponsored the Senate version of the legislation, although the House version of the bill was the one that ultimately passed both chambers.

Moderate Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana along with independent Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona joined with all 49 Republican senators to pass the bill.

In a statement Friday, Britt indicated that she believes the president’s plan, which is before the U.S. Supreme Court and had been blocked due to court challenges, is unconstitutional.

“I proudly voted against President Biden’s unlawful, unfair, and regressive mass student loan debt transfer plan, which blatantly exceeds his statutory authority and piles more debt onto hardworking Americans who can least afford it,” she said.

“While this Administration continues to rely on radical left-wing executive actions to placate its base, families across our nation are struggling to make ends meet,” Britt continued. “This student loan debt debacle would further inflame the inflation crisis and incentivize the cost of higher education to continue rising. I will continue fighting to restore fiscal sanity in Washington.”

Tuberville shared Britt’s sentiments when he announced his cosponsoring of the Senate version of the resolution. He did not release a statement after the bill passed the Senate on Thursday.

“It’s bad economics. It’s bad education policy, and it’s just plain wrong,” he said in March. “It encourages our students to take out more debt and it encourages colleges and universities to raise prices. Joe Biden’s student debt handout costs taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars and drives up inflation. This is an absolutely reckless policy, and I’m going to do everything I can to stop it.”

Meanwhile, the White House said Biden would veto the bill, which also passed the House earlier this week.

Neither chamber passed the bill with a veto-proof majority.