House Republicans are demanding that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stand up to President Joe Biden about his order to cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt after she argued a year ago that the president does not have authority to implement student loan forgiveness without the approval of Congress.
In a letter signed by 94 Republicans, led by Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., the lawmakers called on Pelosi to declare the plans to forgive the student loans "unconstitutional and illegal," reports Business Insider.
"Given your previously stated position and your leadership role as Speaker of the House, it is imperative that you act immediately in defense of our Constitution and the powers of the legislative branch," the lawmakers wrote in the letter, obtained by Fox News. "Will you commit to supporting your July 2021 statement with definitive action to stand up to this blatant overreach President Biden is enacting?"
They also called Biden's plan, which forgives $10,000 in loans for people who didn't get a Pell Grant and $20,000 for people who got the grant money, "an illegal act by a President desperate for a political win. We hope you will heed your own words and act to defend the Constitution and the rule of law."
In July 2021, Pelosi said: "People think that the President of the United States has the power of debt forgiveness. He does not. He can postpone, he can delay, but he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress."
But last week, Pelosi changed her position just before Biden announced his student loan relief plan, and said she made her initial statement because "we didn't know what authority the President had to do this. And now clearly, it seems he has the authority to do this: $10,000 for those with the debt, those making under $125,000 a year."
Biden had been hesitant about whether he could cancel student loan debt and asked the departments of Education and Justice to prepare memos that detailed the legality of the move.
The Education Department said he had the authority to cancel debt falls under the HEROES Act of 2003, giving the Education Secretary authority to waive or change student debt balances if there is a national emergency, like the pandemic.
Former President Donald Trump's administration had published a memo saying the president could not cancel loan debt unless Congress approved, but the Education Department had called for that to be pulled back.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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