Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) has introduced legislation to prohibit President Joe Biden’s planned plan to provide debt relief to students by forgiving pledged payments.
According to reports, a Tennessee Republican wants to propose the measure, claiming that the debt relief proposal does nothing more than shift the financial load on individuals who have not promised to repay it.
Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Tim Scott (R-SC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) have introduced legislation identical to DesJarlais (R-NC).
DeJarlais’ House measure, on the other hand, differs from the senators’ effort in that it is more brief and adjusts the date of possible exclusions to encompass rules in place on March 12, 2020, rather than May 11, 2022, as the other bill does.
The bill’s most severe provision prevents the Secretaries of Education and Treasury, as well as the Attorney General, from taking any actions related to student loan debt forgiveness that are not permitted by the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Student loan forgiveness, according to DesJarlais, does not benefit the economy since it just moves the debt burden from borrowers to other taxpayers.
This law will have far-reaching implications for both direct and blanket debt forgiveness, as well as incentive schemes.
On Wednesday, the Department of Education announced that it will rescind $5.8 billion in complete debt discharges for 560,000 students who attended a Corinthian Colleges-owned or controlled college, making it the largest single loan discharge in department history.
