January, 2023
Washington — After the chaos of the House speaker's election, the nation needs to see a demonstration that the House can pass meaningful legislation under its new leadership and new rules. It needs quickly to bring an important bill through a standing committee, through the House Rules Committee, and pass it with a roll-call floor vote to send to the Senate.
Anything less invites suspicion that we are still facing insurrection in the Capitol.
A good choice for the purpose is the restoration of bankruptcy rights for student loan borrowers, which has bipartisan, bicameral support. It has backing across the ideological spectrum and from the chairman of the Federal Reserve. Members of the House Freedom Caucus have voiced their favor. Both houses have legislation for the purpose already drafted from last year.
This is substantive legislation and a key step in resolving the nation's student loan mess. Passage could be a factor in breaking the impasse over student loan cancellations, not only by providing another option for borrower relief, but especially by disincentivizing lenders and servicers, whose revenues depend on perpetuation of debt, from preying on the most vulnerable.
The nation's media are focused on conflict, most notably over how to raise the federal debt ceiling in a few months, doubtless a profound problem. Stoking conflict, however, is not what the nation needs right now. We need an answer to the question of whether the Freedom Caucus is bent on bringing down the government, as sometimes seems the case, or actually making it work.
Bankruptcy restoration legislation presents a rare opportunity not only to help resolve a policy issue, but to resolve procedural issues of the highest possible order.
