Republicans have joined forces and criticized United States President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness policy, saying it is not legal or responsible, urging Democrats to hold a hearing to look into the "chaos" that the relief program has caused in the country.
GOP members argued that up to $20,000 in relief per federal borrower cannot happen without Congressional approval. However, the White House maintains that it has the authority to enact the student loan forgiveness on its own.
Challenge to Student Loan Forgiveness
The tensions between the two sides show no signs of stopping and Republicans continue to look for ways to challenge Biden's relief program. Every GOP member on the House education committee, led by Virginia Foxx, wrote a letter on Wednesday to Democratic Chairman Bobby Scott requesting he convene a hearing on Biden's recent actions on student debt.
The Biden administration announced at the end of last month $10,000 to $20,000 in loan forgiveness for federal borrowers making under $125,000 per year. However, Republican lawmakers have long criticized any broad relief because of its potential cost to the economy and its legality, as per Yahoo Sports.
The GOP members wrote in their letter that the policy was not harmless and argued that it was a deliberate decision to appease a small but loud special interest group at the expense of the people who work hard to keep the country strong.
Republicans said that it was time to shed party loyalty and stand up for all the citizens of the United States. Their letter added that this process must begin with Congressional oversight over dubious executive actions.
According to Business Insider, Republican lawmakers also cited comments Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made last year when she said that the president does not have the authority to enact broad student-loan forgiveness. However, she walked back those comments a day before Biden announced the relief program.
Legal Issues of the Plan
The White House maintains it has the authority to enact the cancellation of student debt under the HEROES Act of 2003, which allows the Education Secretary to waive or modify student-loan balances in connection with a national emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden's Education and Justice Department also rescinded a memo from former President Donald Trump that concluded the authority does not exist for wide-scale debt cancellation. But the Biden administration's determinations are not enough to stop the GOP from looking for ways to slow it down or shut it down.
In an interview, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said that he was "brainstorming" ways to overturn the relief in court, and other conservative groups said that they are weighing their legal options to block debt relief.
The situation comes as Arizona Attorney-General Mark Brnovich suggested that student loan borrowers should not rely on the debt relief just yet. He argued that many people were celebrating prematurely, noting that there were a lot of others who were upset about the program.
The state's Republican attorney general said he and several other GOP members were looking to legally challenge Biden's plan. "If we can bring a challenge, we will bring a challenge," said Brnovich, CNBC reported.
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