Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called President Joe Biden's plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loans for some people "bold," even though she said last year that Biden didn't have the power to do that.
Biden said on Wednesday that he would forgive up to $20,000 in student loans for people who get Pell Grants and up to $10,000 for people who make less than $125,000 a year.
The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania found in a report that canceling student loans could cost taxpayers more than $300 billion over the next ten years.
Pelosi tweeted on Wednesday, "POTUS's brave action is a strong step in Democrats' fight to expand access to higher education." "By delivering historic targeted student debt relief to millions of borrowers, more working families will be able to meet their kitchen table needs as they recover from the pandemic.”
The bold move by @POTUS is a big step in the Democrats' fight to make college more accessible.
Pelosi has changed her tune since July 2021, when she said that Biden didn't have the power to cancel student debt.
"People think that the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not."
FLASHBACK to April:
Pelosi: “People think that the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not.” pic.twitter.com/w3g9mAbFsb
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) August 24, 2022
He can postpone. He can delay.postpone. But he does not have the power. That has to be an act of Congress. And I don’t even like to call it forgiveness because that implies a transgression. It’s not to be forgiven, just freeing people from those obligations.”
“The President can’t do it. So that’s not even a discussion. Not everybody realizes that. But the President can only postpone, delay, but not forgive.”
A law passed after 9/11 is what the Biden administration is counting on to get rid of $10,000 in student debt. The "HEROES Act" was first proposed in 2003. It was meant to help military members serving the U.S. after the terrorist attacks that killed so many people. The Department of Education said that Biden could legally use the HEROES Act to get rid of his student loans because of the "COVID-19 pandemic." The law lets federal student loans be changed during a "war or other military operation or national emergency."
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on DAILY CALLER.
