Comer targets Cardona for ‘student loan bailout scheme’ at risk for fraud

EXCLUSIVE — A group of House Republicans is demanding the Department of Education explain what the agency is doing to address possible fraud in the department’s new income-driven repayment policies for student loans.
In a letter sent to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona Friday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) expressed concern that the department’s new regulations for income-driven repayment would lead to fraud because they do not require a borrower to verify their income.
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The income-driven repayment program allows student loan borrowers to make lower monthly payments corresponding to their income above the poverty line. Under the Biden administration’s rules, the program requires borrowers to pay 5% of discretionary income, or income above the poverty line.
In the letter, the lawmakers, which also included Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), noted that a system of self-certification of income had led to a substantial amount of fraud in the government’s Paycheck Protection Program, which had offered loans to businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic that were ultimately forgiven.