As expected, President Joe Biden made a unilateral move Wednesday to implement a student loan forgiveness plan that “will include at least $10,000 in loan forgiveness for borrowers who make less than $125,000 annually, as well as another payment freeze for roughly four months.”
While Republican members of Congress are understandably outraged, most of the ones openly speaking out against Biden’s move seem to be studiously avoiding the “i” word (impeachment) even though that is an option that should definitely be on the table considering Biden does not have the authority to carry out this plan, which does an end run around Congress and the required legislative process.
But according to a statement from Biden’s Education Dept., he indeed has such authority, something that was pointed to by reporters Wednesday after many raised questions as to where he thought he was getting his power from:
Is that possible?
Biden uses a law from post-9/11 that permits debt cancellation in connection with “a war or any other military operation” or a national emergency.
Which emergency?[T]He presents COVID-19 Pandemic,” Per a Dept of Ed memo dated yesterday.
h/t @kathrynw5.
— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) August 24, 2022
Department. Dept. General Counsel Lisa Brown, Secretary Miguel Cardona has the legal authority to force taxpayers to pay for the student loan debts of others thanks to the 2003 HEROES Act, which is a reversal of a January 2021 memo which stated that they didn’t have such authority.
Starting Tuesday, memo:
For the past year and a half, the Office of General Counsel (“OGC”), in consultation with our colleagues at the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel, has conducted a review of the Secretary’s legal authority to cancel student debt on a categorical basis. The review included an evaluation of the analyses outlined in a January 2021 memo that was publicly distributed by a former Principal Vice General Counsel. As detailed below, we have determined that the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (“HEROES”) Act of 2003 grants the Secretary authority that could be used to effectuate a program of targeted loan cancellation directed at addressing the financial harms of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, it was determined that the January 20,21 memorandum contained substantive errors in its conclusions.
[…]
The HEROES Act was first enacted following the September 11th attacks. It gives the Secretary wide authority to exempt student loans from certain periods of time (a war or other military operation or national emergency like the current COVID-19 pandemic), and to specific purposes (including the relief of financial damages resulting from such a war or other military operation or emergency). The Secretary of Education has used this authority, under both this and every prior administration since the Act’s passage, to provide relief to borrowers in connection with a war, other military operation, or national emergency, including the ongoing moratorium on student loan payments and interest.
Isn’t it just amazing how they managed to override themselves on the legality of such a move just in time for Biden’s announcement? It’s like this power just magically appeared out of thin air – and conveniently just in time for the November midterms.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who said in April 2021 that Biden didn’t have the power to forgive student loans, has also done a convenient 180:
PELOSI IN ARIL: People believe the US President has the ability to forgo debt forgiveness. He does not.”
PELOSI TODAY – Biden’s plan to eliminate student debt is a “strong step” in Democrats’ efforts to increase access to higher education. pic.twitter.com/zr3PRKHjk5
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 24, 2022
Also, yesterday
Yesterday, Pelosi
“Well, we’re excited about the president, because we didn’t know what — what authority the president had to do this. And now clearly, it seems he has the authority to do this: $10,000 for those … making under $125,000 a year.”https://t.co/6UJGIW4DU3
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) August 24, 2022
It would be great if someone from the Democrat party understood how foolish such a move is and that it could backfire hugely when elections roll around.
You are like this.
“Suppose … your child just decided they, at this time, [do] not want to go to college, but you’re paying taxes to forgive somebody else’s obligations. You may not be happy about that.”
What Democrat said it? Nancy Pelosi (as Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Majority Leader (D-N.Y.), pushed for Biden’s forgiveness of student loans up to $50,000.
My, how times – and political circumstances – have changed.
Related: Leftist ‘Thought Leader’ Confirms Some of Our Worst Fears About Democrats