Biden Administration's Student Loan Debt Plan Masterthread

[freeloader]

Sure, the HEROES Act of 2003 confers on the Secretary of Education specific, statutory authority to “waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial assistance programs” during times of national emergency.  20 U.S.C. § 1098bb(a)(1), (2)

President Trump declared a national state of emergency related to Covid-19 on 13 November 2020. That has subsequently been extended and is still in force.

"While the HEROES Act of 2003 arguably confers somewhat less broad authority than the HEA does, since an administration may only exercise its authority on a case-by-case basis or on a class of people impacted by the emergency"

Nancy Pelosi said Biden could only delay but not cancel student loan debt. Only congress has the power to do that.

Trump's Payroll Tax Cut was a bunch of nonsense too.

So for the record FJB and FDT.

1. You referenced, without citation I would note, a Forbes article which is simply wrong. If you look at the actual law, it specifies “(3)Case-by-case basis
The Secretary is not required to exercise the waiver or modification authority under this section on a case-by-case basis.”

2. The power to cancel student loans rests with Congress.  And they delegated it to the Secretary of Education in 2003.  It will be interesting to see if there is litigation to try to stop this cancellation.  If there is, it will be up to a federal court, in all likelihood the Circuit Court for DC, to decide it Biden has this authority.  But, until an injunction to the contrary, Biden has this authority.

3. You may not be aware of this. Nancy Pelosi is not a president, dictator, or even a federal judge. While she controls the legislative agenda of the House of Representatives at this time, she doesn’t actually get to decide all the laws for the country. 

4. I do not appreciate you using profanity, even in veiled form.  I hope the moderators take note of that an respond appropriately.

I would think Nancy Pelosi knows a bit more than a bunch of keyword warriors and some random journalists trying to armchair quarterback being a lawyer and giving out legal advice as to what is constitutional or not.

I don’t disagree. But, I think the White House counsel and the Department of Education counsel, who have both asserted that the HEROES Act gives Biden this authority know more than Pelosi. Again, it really doesn’t matter. He is the President. Unless and until a court stop this, it is happening.