WASHINGTON, D.C.(Press Release) — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) Tuesday joined several of his Senate Republican colleagues in introducing a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn President Biden’s reckless income-driven repayment (IDR) rule that would forgive student loan balances after 10 years of payments for certain borrowers, including those in high-income households. On June 30, 2023, President Biden announced the final IDR rule in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Biden v. Nebraska, which struck down the president’s reckless and costly student loan bailout executive order.

“Instead of creating a real plan to lower the costs of higher education, President Biden continues to propose budget-busting student loan bailouts that would force 87 percent of Americans who do not have student loan debt to bear the costs of the 13 percent of Americans who do,” said Thune. “It’s incredibly unfair to those who never incurred student debt because they didn’t attend college in the first place or because they either worked their way through school or their family pinched pennies and planned for higher education. I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing this resolution that would overturn President Biden’s latest misguided and fiscally irresponsible student loan bailout.”

The legislation was led by U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and John Cornyn (R-Texas). In addition to Thune, it is cosponsored by U.S. Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).

Earlier this year, Thune introduced legislation that would prevent taxpayers and working families from paying for the cancellation of student loans. In June, Thune urged U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to abandon the agency’s costly student loan forgiveness efforts and instead focus on preparing borrowers and loan servicers to resume student loan repayments. Thune has also led common-sense measures to address the problem of student debt. In December 2020, Congress passed a five-year version of legislation Thune introduced with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) to allow employers to help employees repay their loans. Thune and Warner’s Employer Participation in Repayment Act amends the Educational Assistance Program to permit employers to make tax-free payments on their employees’ student loans.