Biden vetoes bill canceling his $400 billion student loan, swears he ‘won’t back down’
President Biden on Wednesday vetoed the bill that would have cut his $400 billion student loan and vowed he was ‘not going to back down’ when it came to canceling college debt of millions of people across the country.
“The people, Republicans in Congress, led an effort to pass a bill blocking my administration’s plan to provide up to $10,000 in student debt relief and up to $20,000 to borrowers who received a Pell grant. Almost 90% of those relief dollars go to people earning less than $75,000 a year,” Biden said in a video posted to Twitter.
“I’m not going to give up on my efforts to help tens of millions of working and middle class families. That’s why I’m going to veto this bill,” he said.
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Amid his taunts against Republicans, Biden made no mention of the two Democratic senators, Joe Manchin, DW.Va., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., who joined all Republicans in voting to advance the bill last week. Arizona Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema also voted in favour, with the final tally 52-46.
Biden also made no mention of Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., who joined Republicans in voting for the bill in the House of Representatives. The final House vote tally was 218-203.
The president went on to say that some of the members who voted for the bill had “personally received loans to keep their small businesses afloat during the pandemic” and supported “huge tax cuts for businesses and individuals.” rich”.
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President Joe Biden speaks before vetoing a bill to cut his $400 billion student loan on June 7, 2023 in the Oval Office. (White House)
“But when it comes to hard-working Americans trying to get ahead, dealing with student debt relief, that’s where they draw the line. I think that’s wrong,” he said.
“Let me clarify something, I will never apologize for helping working and middle class Americans as they recover from this pandemic. Never,” he added before signing his veto the bill.
Biden’s veto of the bill marks his fifth veto since taking office.
Under the program announced last year, Biden said he would forgive up to $10,000 in student loans for people earning less than $125,000 and up to $20,000 for students who received Pell scholarships. This program was expected to cost the government more than $400 billion in lost debt repayments, but the program was put on hold after a court blocked it.
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The United States Capitol building in Washington, DC (Photo by Fox News/Joshua Comins)
The resolution approved by the House and Senate was drafted under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to reject an executive branch policy as long as the House and Senate pass a resolution disapproving of that policy.
Given the largely partisan nature of votes in the House and Senate, it’s unlikely Congress will be able to find the two-thirds majority needed in each chamber to override Biden’s veto.
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Fox News’ Peter Kasperowicz contributed to this report.
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