• zoodlenoodle@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    He doesn’t need congressional approval. The President can use the Higher Education Act authorization and direct his Secretary of Education to modify or waive any and all loans.

    Waiting to see if he follows through on this. No idea why the White House tried to use the Heroes Act to justify the cancellation, but it’s clear that if Biden chooses not to enact cancellation with the Higher Ed Act that it was always meant as a carrot on a stick for young voters.

    • Tyrangle@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Using the heroes act I think gave them cover to argue that this was relief related to the pandemic, like PPP loans, which has honestly been an effective strategy to win over moderates on the issue - myself included. It seduced us into thinking that this was justified because PPP loans were not, and that two wrongs made a right. In reality, the repayment freeze was the relief we needed - anything beyond that would be economic stimulus, at which point you have to ask who’s being left out. The further this gets from the pandemic, the more difficult it becomes to justify.