WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against the Biden administration’s student loan debt cancellation scheme:

“Today, the Court preserved the fundamental principle of personal responsibility and put an end to the Biden administration’s desperate PR stunt that would have forced taxpayers to pay off other people’s debt, regardless of whether they had paid their own loans or even attended college,” said Sen. Cornyn. “I’m glad to see this disastrous policy struck down, and I urge Senate Democrats to work with Republicans on commonsense solutions to make higher education more affordable.”

 Background:

Senator Cornyn has introduced the Streamlining Accountability and Value in Education (SAVE) for Students Act, which would simplify the student loan repayment process for borrowers, increase accountability on behalf of the federal government, ensure new federal student loans are paying for degrees that actually produce higher incomes for graduates, and save taxpayers nearly $50 billion.

This legislation is part of the Lowering Education Costs and Debt Act, a package of five bills spearheaded by Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-LA) aimed at directly addressing the issues driving the skyrocketing cost of higher education and the increasing amounts of debt students take on to attend school.

Earlier this year, Sens. Cornyn (R-TX), Cassidy (R-LA), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn this student loan scheme. After Congress passed the CRA with bipartisan support in June, Pres. Biden vetoed the resolution.

The Penn Wharton Budget Model has provided a preliminary analysis estimating this legislation would reduce the 10-year deficit by $48 billion as compared to Pres. Biden’s student loan repayment proposal, which was estimated to cost $220 billion according to Congressional Budget Office (CBO).