Student Loan Forgiveness Repeal Could Be Included In GOP Bill In January
December 12, 2024
A key Republican lawmaker suggested this week that GOP priorities on student loans and higher education, including a repeal of time-based student loan forgiveness under income-driven repayment plans, could be included in an upcoming reconciliation bill early next year.
With Republicans set to control the White House and both chambers of Congress in January (albeit with narrow majorities), top lawmakers are preparing to use the budget reconciliation process to bypass the Senate filibuster, which typically requires 60 votes for legislation to advance. Republicans will hold 53 seats in in the Senate next year. By using reconciliation, Republicans would need only a simple majority to pass budget-related legislation. Top GOP lawmakers have suggested that at a minimum, the first reconciliation bill would include an extension of tax cuts associated with the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was passed through the same process during the first Trump administration. But a top Republican this week indicated that student loan forgiveness reform could be included, as well.
“I still have hope that we’ll be able to pass it in this session of Congress,” said Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) on Fox Business on Wednesday. But if it doesn’t pass this session, the bill “could go into the reconciliation and be a part of the tax cuts extension,” she said.
