Press Releases

U.S. Representatives Drew Ferguson (R-GA) and Mike Gallagher (R-WI) recently introduced H.R. 8006, the Student Loan Accountability Act. This legislation prohibits the Biden Administration from canceling student loan debt on a mass scale. Additionally, this bill prevents forgiven loans from being tax-exempt and blocks the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from sharing American’s tax data for the purpose of implementing mass loan cancellation.

“Hardworking Americans are not responsible for paying off the student loan debt of others,” said Congressman Ferguson. “The Biden Administration’s radical big government proposal would come at the expense of taxpayers – many of whom have fully paid off their student loans, worked hard to pay for their education, or chose not to enroll in college at all. To make matters worse, Biden’s plan allows the IRS to snoop into private tax filing data in an effort to determine who qualifies for its forgiveness program – an extreme authoritarian overreach that is simply unconstitutional. Even though the President lacks statutory authority to implement a mass scale cancellation of student debt, the Student Loan Accountability Act puts this fundamentally unfair discussion to rest. Instead, Congress must focus on market driven solutions that bring down the cost of higher education, including reducing the government’s role in the student loan market.”

“Inflation hit a record 40-year high last week, pummeling Americans at the pump and the grocery store. The last thing the administration should be considering at this time is exacerbating this crisis by canceling student debt, which experts estimate could raise inflation rate forecasts up to 20%,” said Congressman Gallagher. “While I believe the President lacks the legal authority to take this unilateral step, the Student Loan Accountability Act will provide an additional safeguard against executive overreach and this reckless agenda.”

Background

The Student Loan Accountability Act:

• Prohibits the Department of Education, Department of Justice, and the Department of Treasury from taking any action to cancel or forgive the outstanding balances, or portions of balances, of covered loans.
• Repeals Section 9675 of the American Rescue Plan Act that provided tax-free treatment of forgiven student loan debt. 
• Prohibits the IRS and the Department of Treasury from sharing any tax data for the purpose of administering a student loan cancellation plan.

Click here to view the bill text.