The Democrat-Socialist left is amping up the pressure, forcing the feckless figurehead of the Biden-Harris regime to do the bidding of their grassroots supporters: Forgive Student Debt. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Monday that the Justice Department is conducting a review of Presidential authority to issue “blanket forgiveness on student debt”. This perversion and contortion of the US Constitution would represent one of the most extreme overreaches of presidential authority in American history. Full. Stop.
A Threatened Party Split Forcing Biden to Fold
The split between Biden and the far left of the Democrat party apparatchiks seems to be not whether or not to ‘forgive’ student loan debt but for how much. Biden has pushed back against Schumer, Pelosi and the Democratic-Socialists in Congress who are calling for a $50,000 student loan cancellation versus his more modest (but still wildly unconstitutional) $10,000 per borrower proposal. Biden has argued on class-warfare lines that the government shouldn’t ‘forgive’ debt for people who went to “Harvard and Yale and Penn”.
During a CNN Townhall Biden was asked by an audience member if he would push for the $50K cancellation, Biden responded “I will not make that happen,” Biden said after an audience member said his proposal to cancel $10,000 per borrower doesn’t go far enough.
“The President has and continues to support canceling $10,000 of federal student loan debt per person as a response to the Covid crisis,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing in February, she added that Biden is “calling on Congress to draft the proposal,” and “looks forward to signing it.” Joe is trying to sit on top of the fence and its’ starting to hurt him, Schumer, Warren and the far left will make folding to their Communistic whim his only option.
Dems Push Toward Forcing Biden Into An Executive Order
Disgraced, but bafflingly still re-elected Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have been driving the the push as surrogates for Schumer. They expressed their doubts in a legislative solutions which Biden has been pushing for and are advocating for him to push an Executive Order option, as Press Secretary Jen Psaki has indicated they are open to investigating.
The President continues to support the cancelling of student debt to bring relief to students and families. Our team is reviewing whether there are any steps he can take through executive action and he would welcome the opportunity to sign a bill sent to him by Congress.
— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) February 4, 2021
“I think it will be much harder to do legislatively. We have not seen our Republican colleagues jump at this opportunity,” Schumer said on a press call with his colleagues Warren and Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey.
Can A President Cancel Student Loan Debt? DeVos Said No.
According to Forbes a memorandum from the U.S. Department of Education under former Secretary Betsy DeVos says the president can’t cancel student loans. Forbes’ Zack Friedman a Contributor specializing in Personal Finance wrote “The non-binding memo provides legal arguments why only Congress can cancel student loans. While advocates for student loan cancellation such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) likely will disagree with the contents of the memo.”
The Memo written by the Department of Education’s General Counsel states,
“we believe the [Secretary of Education] does not have the statutory authority to cancel, compromise, discharge, or forgive, on a blanket or mass basis, principal balances of student loans, and/or to materially modify the repayment amounts or terms thereof.”
The memo calls out three main points to refute the concept which Friedman explains are,
1.)Congress ultimately controls spending and loan cancellation IS spending no matter how you slice it.
2.) Congress would have explicitly written that the president can cancel everyone’s student loans if that was what they intended. The memo states “Congress does not hide elephants in mouseholes.” citing Gonzalez v. Oregon.
3.)The Dept. of Education CAN cancel SOME student loans but only under limited circumstances which Friedman lists “For example, student loans can be cancelled due to fraud, school closure or total and permanent disability.”
But There Is A New Secretary of Education.. And He Has His Orders
As Secretary DeVos has since been replaced by Biden nominee Dr. Miguel Cardona as of March 1st, during his confirmation Dr. Cardona committed to “doing everything (he) can to use those tools to provide borrowers with immediate relief”, when asked for this commitment he simply answered “Yes, Senator” to which Sen. Warren gave his marching orders.
Warren said,
“One route that I’m going to continue to urge you to take is administrative cancellation of student loan debt. The law in this is clear. Congress gave the power to the Secretary of Education, and the past two Secretaries-and yes, that includes Betsy DeVos-used it. So, if confirmed, that tool will be waiting on your desk when you are sworn in. And that is tremendous power to help.
As you know, Majority Leader Schumer and I have outlined how you and President Biden can immediately cancel $50,000 in student loan debt. And I look forward to working with you to provide the relief that our students need. Thank you so much for agreeing to serve.”
Its all lined up, Biden will fold, and Dr. Cardona will execute the commitment he gave Senators Warren and Schumer. At this point Biden is just stalling for time, trying to hide the strings that control him which lead straight back to Schumer, Warren and Pelosi.
Schumer is the true puppet master though, and the 22 year Senator doesn’t need to run for President now, with his accolytes Biden and Harris in the White House… he’s already in Charge. He knows it… and he’s loving it.
I do not under stand why the government wants to forgive student loan debt. They knew the debt they were making when they signed the paper. No one paid my student debt for me so why should they get it paid? You take out a loan you are expected to pay it back pure and simple. NO one paid my mortgage for me , I payed it off myself with work and sweat. These young people today want everything free and everything is not free. Nothing wrong in taking pride in working to pay your debts so you can be proud of what you accomplished.