House GOP advances bill to block Biden's student loan repayment program

The House Education and the Workforce Committee voted 23-19 along party lines to advance a resolution, H.J. Res. 88, aimed at nullifying the Biden administration's SAVE income-driven student loan repayment plan, according to Politico reporting by Michael Stratford. Republicans used the Congressional Review Act, which lets Congress vote to overturn recently finalized executive-branch rules and forces a Senate vote even without control of that chamber.

SAVE -- Saving on a Valuable Education -- was an Education Department repayment plan designed to lower monthly payments and cap interest accrual for borrowers. More than 4 million borrowers had already enrolled at the time of the committee vote, as federal student loan payments resumed in October 2023 following a three-year pandemic-era pause, per Politico's reporting.

Republicans on the committee characterized SAVE as, in the report's framing, "a backdoor loan forgiveness program that provides wasteful subsidies to millions of borrowers at taxpayers' expense." Cost estimates for the plan varied widely depending on the source: the Biden administration projected $156 billion over ten years, the Congressional Budget Office estimated $230 billion, and the Penn Wharton Budget Model put the figure as high as $475 billion, according to Politico.

How this differed from the earlier forgiveness fight

This vote targeted the SAVE repayment plan specifically, distinct from the separate, larger fight earlier in 2023 over Biden's proposed one-time cancellation of up to $10,000 to $20,000 in student debt per borrower -- a plan the Supreme Court struck down in June 2023. The House had already voted on a separate resolution regarding that forgiveness plan months earlier; the SAVE-plan resolution represented a new legislative front after loan payments resumed.

What happens next

Advancing out of committee positioned the resolution for a full House floor vote, with Republicans betting the Congressional Review Act process could force Senate Democrats to go on record. The available reporting reviewed does not specify the eventual full House vote count or a Senate floor date, since it covered the committee-level action.

US In News compiled this archived account from contemporaneous coverage by Politico. It restores a story originally published on this site in October 2023; figures are as reported at the time.