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U.S. Department of Education—Applicability of the Congressional Review Act to the Department of Education's Student Loan Debt Relief Website and Accompanying Federal Register Publication

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Highlights

 

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced actions to extend a pause on federal student loan repayment and to cancel certain loan debts on a website titled "One-Time Federal Student Loan Debt Relief." ED also publicized these actions in a Federal Register document titled Federal Student Aid Programs (Federal Perkins Loan Program, Federal Family Education Loan Program, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program). GAO received a request for a decision as to whether ED's actions announced on its website and in the Federal Register (collectively ED's "Waivers and Modifications") are a rule for purposes of the Congressional Review Act (CRA). CRA incorporates the Administrative Procedure Act's (APA) definition of a rule and requires that before a rule can take effect, an agency must submit the rule to both the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as to the Comptroller General. ED did not submit a CRA report to Congress or the Comptroller General on its Waivers and Modifications.

We conclude that ED's Waivers and Modifications meet the definition of a rule under CRA and that no exception applies. Therefore, ED's Waivers and Modifications are subject to the requirement that they be submitted to Congress. If ED finds for good cause that normal delays in the effective date of the rule are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest, then its rule may take effect at such time as the agency determines, consistent with CRA.


 

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