Lankford, Blackburn Push Back on Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Senators James Lankford, Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and more than 40 of their Republican colleagues filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States on Friday, supporting respondents in the dual Supreme Court cases challenging Biden’s student-loan debt relief program, Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown.

The Senators argue that Biden’s decision to forgive federal student loan debt in these circumstances constitutes unprecedented executive overreach and defies the separation of powers between Congress and the President. 

“Cancelling student debt sounds easy, and everyone likes “free money,” but it is actually not free, it is a bill that someone else has to pay. President Biden is trying to give away almost half a trillion dollars while our nation is already facing well over a trillion dollars in one year deficit and is a few months away from a debt ceiling crisis,” said Lankford. “Families who worked two jobs in college, or never attended college now have to pay someone else’s student loan debt. The Constitution is clear, Congress has the right to set spending priorities. This Administration policy far surpasses the letter of the law and overreaches the authority of the President of the United States. My colleagues and I are asking the Supreme Court to uphold the law and honor the millions of Americans who don’t want to pay off someone else’s student loan debt.”

“Hardworking Americans should not be forced to foot the bill for coastal elites to get their PhD in gender studies,” said Blackburn. “Still, President Biden has unilaterally used his national COVID emergency to justify student loan bailouts. His plan bypasses Congress’s comprehensive plan for student borrowers in the Higher Education Act of 1965 and clearly violates basic principles of executive power under Article II of the Constitution. My colleagues and I urge the Court to preserve the constitutional separation of powers and stop this partisan handout on the taxpayer’s dime.”

Senators joining Lankford, Blackburn, and McConnell include Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Tedd Budd (R-NC), Rick Scott (R-FL), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Lee (R-UT), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Mike Braun (R-IN), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mitt Romney (R-UT), John Barrasso (R-WY), John Thune (R-SD), John Hoeven (R-ND), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Cornyn (R-TX), James Risch (R-ID), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Todd Young (R-IN), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Katie Britt (R-AL), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Jerry Moran (R-KS), John Kennedy (R-LA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Steve Daines (R-MT), Tim Scott (R-SC), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), and John Boozman (R-AR).

Click here to read the full brief.

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