President Joe Biden vetoed a bill intended to block his student loan giveaway Wednesday, leaving the plan’s fate ultimately up to the Supreme Court.
The measure — which passed the House and the Democrat-majority Senate — would have overturned the Department of Education’s 2022 plan to forgive up to $20,000 in loans for some federal loan recipients. The move to overturn Biden’s giveaway squeaked by the Senate after gaining support from Democrats Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana, as well as Independent Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. (RELATED: Senate Votes To Overturn Biden’s Student Loan Giveaway)
In his veto, Biden argued that the student loan “relief” would be counteracting the financial strains Americans experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that there is high “demand” for the money. He also argued that some of the lawmakers opposing his student loan plan received money for their businesses from the federal government during the pandemic.
“It is a shame for working families across the country that lawmakers continue to pursue this unprecedented attempt to deny critical relief to millions of their own constituents, even as several of these same lawmakers have had tens of thousands of dollars of their own business loans forgiven by the Federal Government,” Biden said.
“I remain committed to continuing to make college affordable and providing this critical relief to borrowers as they work to recover from a once-in-a-century pandemic,” he added.
Some of the same members of Congress who supported a bill that’d block student loan debt relief had millions of dollars in PPP loans forgiven.
But when it comes to hard-working Americans getting student debt relief, that’s where they draw the line?
It’s wrong.
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 7, 2023
Biden’s Department of Education plan includes provisions to give $10,000 to borrowers making less than $125,000. Those with Pell grants are eligible for up to $20,000 in forgiveness.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the plan in the coming weeks.