Palmetto State News

On May 20, 2024, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) joined forces with Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, U.S. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and 128 other lawmakers to urge the Department of Education (DeptEd) to withdraw its latest proposal to transfer student loan debt onto American taxpayers. The proposed rule by DeptEd is estimated to cost Americans an additional $147 billion and increase the total student loan debt transferred to taxpayers to nearly $1 trillion.

In a letter penned by the lawmakers, they expressed their concern over this proposal: “The latest Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) proposed by your Department of Education on April 17, 2024, represents the latest in a string of reckless attempts to transfer as much as $1 trillion of student loan debt from those who willingly borrowed to those who did not or have already repaid their loans.” They criticized this move as fiscally irresponsible and deemed it a backdoor attempt to enact 'free' college.

They also voiced their disapproval over using borrowers as political pawns for actions they believe are illegal. They referenced a Supreme Court ruling from June last year that declared there was no authority to write-off federal student loans en masse.

Instead of exacerbating the problems of inflated college costs and low-value degrees, they urged the withdrawal of this NPRM and suggested working with Congress. "It is past time that we fix our nation’s broken higher education financing system,” they concluded.

The lawmakers' group included U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Kennedy (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kan.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Markwayne Mullin(R-Okla.) and many others.

The lawmakers also criticized the Biden administration for prioritizing student loan schemes while failing to properly implement the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid program. They argue that these delays prevent students and families from accessing crucial financial aid information as they choose which college they can afford to attend.