Rep. Mann Votes to Block President Biden's Mass Student Debt Cancellation

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Representative Tracey Mann (KS-01) voted yes on H.J. Res. 45, which would block President Biden from canceling more than $400 billion in student loan debt over the next decade. The resolution would invoke a legislative process established by the Congressional Review Act to repeal the rule and prohibit the Department from issuing similar rules in the future. 

“President Biden’s approval rating with young Americans is at 36%, and his efforts to cancel mass student debt is nothing more than a political ploy,” said Rep. Mann. “We need a well-developed and long-term solution that will address the high cost of education in America. With our national debt approaching $32 trillion, and President Biden deficit-spending about $1 trillion every year, now is not the time to erase debt that student borrowers knowingly took on. Student loan debt cancellation punishes taxpayers who either didn’t go to college or who found ways to pay for their education rather than taking on debt. Furthermore, the majority of the mass debt cancellation will accrue to borrowersat the top of the income distribution.This is a terrible proposal that may not even be legal, and I am proud to cosponsor H.J. Res. 45 to eliminate President Biden’s rule.”  

In August 2022, the Biden Administration proposed a three-part student debt relief plan, which included up to $20,000 of debt cancellation to Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 in debt cancellation to non-Pell Grant recipients.  

In September 2022, Kansas joined five other states (Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Iowa) in a lawsuit aimed at blocking the Biden Administration’s student loan forgiveness plan. There is ongoing legal debate concerning whether President Biden has the authority to forgive student loans without an act of Congress.

Click Hereto read more about H.J. Res. 45.

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