Murphy, Johnson, Gallagher Introduce Stop Reckless Student Loan Actions Act

Washington, D.C. – This week, Rep. Greg Murphy, M.D. (NC-03) introduced H.R. 7656, the Stop Reckless Student Loan Actions Act alongside Reps. Dusty Johnson (SD-at large) and Mike Gallagher (WI-08). If passed, the bill would end President Biden's pause on student loan repayments and limit the president's ability to unilaterally cancel student debt. H.R. 7656 is companion legislation to the Senate version which was introduced last week by Senators Thune, Burr, Braun, Cassidy, and Marshall.

Over the past two years, the Biden Administration's moratorium on federal student loan repayments has cost American taxpayers over $100 billion dollars, and will cost taxpayers nearly $5 billion for every month that it remains in place.

"President Biden often trumpets the line of wanting high-income Americans to ‘pay their fair share', said Rep. Murphy. "If Biden really believed that, he would start by requiring them pay their own student loans. What progressives fail to acknowledge is that there is no such thing as canceling or forgiving student loans, they're just shifting the responsibility to hardworking taxpayers. The fact is, most Americans do not have college degrees, and it is reprehensible to force low-and middle-income families to bailout Ivy League graduates. I'm proud to be working with my Senate counterparts to protect taxpayers and prevent Biden from unfairly and unlawfully canceling student debt."

"Folks are back at work," said Rep. Johnson. "There is no reason — other than political ones — that the Biden Administration is unilaterally suspending student loan payments. If you take out a loan, you should pay it back."

"The Biden Administration continues to call for a return to normalcy from the pandemic, while simultaneously extending emergency relief programs like the student loan repayment freeze," said Senator Burr. "They can't have it both ways. Resuming student loan repayments is long overdue, especially in today's strong job market. That's why I'm proud to work with my colleagues on this important bill, which will end the repayment moratorium that has exacerbated the existing moral hazard against borrowers and cost taxpayers an estimated $5 billion per month."

"As Americans continue to return to the workforce more than two years since the pandemic began, it is time for borrowers to resume repayment of student debt obligations," said Senator Thune. "Taxpayers and working families should not be responsible for continuing to bear the costs associated with this suspension of repayment. This common-sense legislation would protect taxpayers and prevent President Biden from suspending federal student loan repayments in perpetuity. Any future suspension of federal student loan repayments should be left to Congress, not the Biden administration."

Last week, Senators Thune, Burr, Braun, Cassidy, and Marshall introduced the Senate version of the Stop Reckless Student Loan Actions Act. Read more about the identical Senate version here. Reps. Bob Good and Jim Banks have also introduced similar legislation to prevent President Biden from abusing the moratorium on student loan repayments.

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