President Biden Exercises Veto Power On GOP Bill Aimed At Blocking Student Loan Forgiveness Plan

The Supreme Court has recently anticipated to deliver judgments on two cases pertaining to President Joe Biden’s debt relief plan in the coming month.

President Joe Biden exercised his veto power to reject legislation sponsored by GOP lawmakers that aimed to impede his administration’s debt relief plan for individuals with federal student loans.

“Congressional Republicans led an effort to pass a bill blocking my Administration’s plan to provide up to $20,000 in student debt relief to working and middle-class Americans. I won’t back down on helping hardworking folks. That’s why I’m vetoing this bill,” Biden tweeted, accompanied by a video elucidating his decision.

Biden pointed out the perceived hypocrisy of some Republicans who had supported the measure, as they had themselves obtained loans for their small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“In less than four weeks – during the period when the student debt relief application was available – 26 million people applied or were deemed automatically eligible for relief,” said President Biden in a message released by the White House. “The demand for this relief is undeniable. At least 16 million of those borrowers could have received debt relief already if it were not for meritless lawsuits waged by opponents of this program.”

The legislation was put to vote in the Senate last week and was largely supported along party lines. It passed with a vote of 52-46, with a few moderate senators – Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Jon Tester of Montana, and independent Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona – aligning with Republicans.

The resolution passed in the House with a vote of 218-203 in May, largely along party lines, with two Democrats, Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, siding with Republicans. Only a simple majority was needed in the Senate to send the legislation to President Biden’s desk.

The legislation aimed to repeal the administration’s program that provides loan cancellation of up to $10,000 for borrowers with certain income levels and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. Additionally, it sought to end the pause on loan payments and interest accrual implemented during the pandemic.

In the midst of these developments, the Supreme Court, which leans conservative, is expected to deliver rulings on two cases related to President Biden’s debt relief plan later this month. The program has faced legal obstacles and has been temporarily halted since the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a hold in October.