Policy- Republicans are demanding Democrats hold a hearing on Biden's student-loan forgiveness.
- They argued up to $20,000 in relief per federal borrower cannot happen without Congressional approval.
Republicans aren't giving up on trying to prevent Biden's student-loan forgiveness from happening.
On Wednesday, every Republican on the House education committee led by Virginia Foxx wrote a letter to the Democratic Chariman Bobby Scott requesting he convene a hearing on the president's recent actions on student debt.
At the end of August, Biden announced $10,000 to $20,000 in loan forgiveness for federal borrowers making under $125,000 a year. Republican lawmakers have long criticized any broad relief because of its potential cost to the economy and its legality.
"This is not a harmless policy; this is a deliberate decision to appease a small but loud special interest group at the expense of the people who work hard to keep this nation strong," they wrote to Scott. "It is time to shed the party loyalty and stand up for all the citizens in this nation. This must begin with Congressional oversight over dubious executive actions."
"This student loan debt scheme is not a legal or responsible policy, and the chaos the administration has created is unacceptable," they added.
The Republicans also cited comments Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made last year when she said the president does not have the authority to enact broad student-loan forgiveness. While she walked back those comments a day before Biden announced relief, many Republicans have been referring to her stance as a reason why the legality does not exist for blanket debt relief.
Still, the White House maintains it has the authority to cancel 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, like COVID-19. Biden's Education and Justice Departments also rescinded a memo from former President Donald Trump that concluded the authority does not exist for widescale debt cancellation.
Regardless, Biden's determinations are not stopping Republicans from looking for ways to slow down — or even stop — the process. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told The Washington Post that he is "brainstorming" ways to overturn the relief in court, and other conservative groups have said they are weighing their legal options to block debt relief.
For now, the Education Department is continuing to move forward with implementation. It said that an application for relief should become live in early October, and borrowers will have until the end of next year to apply for Biden's one-time student-loan forgiveness.