McCarthy: Student loan repayment pause will END after Biden signs debt ceiling deal

Kevin McCarthy said that if the debt ceiling deal goes through, student loan repayments will resume after a three-year delay.

The Speaker of the House said the loan payment pause will be “gone” 60 days after President Biden’s signing of the bill.

He told Fox News that student loan repayment revenue raises $5 billion each month to help fund the federal government.

Student loans were suspended at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Both President Donald Trump and Joe Biden extended the pause several times to ease those in student loan debt during the public health emergency.

In May, the state of emergency finally came to an end – and with it other years of aid programs come to an end.

“The break is over within 60 days of signing,” McCarthy told Fox News Sunday. “So that’s another win because that brings in $5 billion every month for the American public.”

The claim comes after the California Republican and Biden came to an “agreement in principle” late Saturday night to cut spending and raise the debt ceiling after a months-long stalemate on the issue.

However, some progressives warn that they are not on board with the deal.

Ending student loan payments is probably an issue that doesn’t sit well with Democrats.

Biden last year announced his plan to forgive $10,000 in student loans for all borrowers earning less than $125,000 and couples earning less than $250,000. Those with Pell Grants could receive up to $20,000 in forgiveness at Biden’s suggestion.

However, the plan faced legal challenges and is currently pending in the Supreme Court.

“What the president did, he went unconstitutional and said he was going to forgive certain people some of their student loan debt, but then he stopped everybody’s student loans,” McCarthy said Sunday. “So anyone who borrowed a student loan within 60 days of signing it has to pay it back.”

“The Supreme Court is handling that case,” he continued. “But if the Supreme Court came back and said that was unconstitutional, the president could still say he’s pausing, not waiving it.”

“But now that this is in law, the Supreme Court’s ruling will have to stand, that they should pay.”

McCarthy says the text of the bill could be released later on Sunday — and he plans to speak with Biden again after the president attends his granddaughter Natalie’s graduation.

Washington Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal told CNN on Sunday morning that she is “not happy” with some of the things she is hearing, which will be included in the final text of the bill and warned Democratic leaders that they “should be concerned” about the support of progressives the deal.

Meanwhile, McCarthy claimed on Sunday that despite reaching an agreement with Biden, there is “nothing in the bill” that Democrats could call a victory.

“I haven’t seen the text,” Jayapal told State of the Union host Jake Tapper on Sunday. “We’re all trying to wade through spider now.”

She added: “I’m not happy with some of the things I hear about, but they don’t reduce the deficit and spending.”

The GOP held a member call at 9:30 p.m. after McCarthy and Biden spoke on the phone for about an hour and a half earlier in the evening.

With the outline of a deal in place, the legislative package could be drafted and shared with lawmakers in time for votes early next week in the House and later in the Senate.

McCarthy said that once a deal is reached, he will give lawmakers 72 hours before putting the bill to a vote. He noted that the bill would not be long, probably about 150 pages.

The dreaded June 5 deadline is four days later than a previous X date, but still guarantees that – even with a deal this weekend – it will be a frantic race to get a bill through Congress in less than 10 days. to get.

Some top House Republicans have also expressed disapproval of McCarthy’s deal with the Democratic president.

Biden and McCarthy reached an agreement in principle late Saturday to end a months-long stalemate and raise the federal government’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling. McCarthy said he and others were up all night finalizing the language of the proposal.

“There’s nothing in the bill for the Democrats,” McCarthy told Fox News on Sunday, despite Biden wanting — and getting — a debt limit increase through 2024.

Some of the things Jayapal doesn’t like in the bill are the tougher work requirements to get food aid, saying it’s “really unfortunate that the president opened the door” to that provision in the first place.

“Maybe the waivers will make it okay, I don’t know,” she said, insisting she needed to see the full text of the bill.

Rep. Bob Good, a member of the conservative and powerful House Freedom Caucus, voiced objections to the deal during Saturday night’s talk with Republicans.

Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry also expressed concern about that call, noting that he is disappointed that Republicans agree to raise the debt limit by more than the US would save.

Dusty Johnson, head of the Republican Main Street Caucus, told NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday morning that most “pragmatic” conservatives are not opposed to the deal.

“When you say conservatives are concerned, they really are the most colorful conservatives,” the South Dakota congressman said.

Johnson added, “Overwhelmingly, Republicans at this conference will support the deal. How could they not? It’s a fantastic deal.’

Reports of pushback from McCarthy’s party further prove that the GOP is not on the same wavelength, showing the factions within the majority in the House — especially among the more conservative members.

Rep. Jim Jordan, the chairman of the judiciary and former leader of the Freedom Caucus, sounded more optimistic about the deal on Saturday’s call.

McCarthy continued to downplay some anger within the Republican Conference on Sunday morning, telling Fox that “more than 95 percent” of House Republicans are “very excited” about the debt limit agreement.

The deal would avoid an economically destabilizing bankruptcy, so long as they manage to make it through the narrowly divided Congress before the Treasury Department runs out of money to meet all its obligations.

The Treasury warned on Friday that this would happen if the debt ceiling is not raised by June 5.