Congresswoman Elise Stefanik joined her colleagues in sending a letter calling on Speaker Pelosi to hold President Joe Biden accountable for what she calls an “illegal” $500 billion student loan bailout. 

In the letter, the lawmakers pointed out that Speaker Pelosi has already called presidential student loan cancellation unconstitutional overreach in July 2021. 

The lawmakers wrote, in part, “Noticeably absent from the President’s plan is any plausible legal authority to implement such a policy. The legislative and executive branches each possess defined powers under the Constitution. No provision of the Constitution nor any act of Congress, including the Higher Education Act, grants President Biden or the Secretary of Education the authority that they falsely claim to wield through this unilateral action. Thankfully, you have previously expressed your agreement with us on this point. In July 2021, you made the following statement: ‘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.”

President Joe Biden recently announced his  administration will forgive $10,000 in student loan debt for federal borrowers earning under $125k per year during the pandemic.

The plan is estimated to erase about $300 billion in student debt and has sparked political debates between the left and right over the past week since it was announced.

For his part President Biden said he’s received complaints from both sides of the aisle but believes his plan is a compromise.

“Some think it’s too much.  I find it interesting how some of my Republican friends who voted for those tax cuts and others think that we shouldn’t be helping these folks.  Some think it’s too little.  But I believe my plan is responsible and fair.  It focuses the benefit on middle-class and working families, it helps both current and future borrowers, and it will fix a badly broken system,” he said. “And these actions build on my administration’s effort to make college more affordable in the first place.  It includes unprecedented investments — nearly $6 billion in Historic Black Colleges and Universities, much of which is focused on pandemic relief to help students cover tuition and other costs so they could stay in school.”