Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2022 September 1

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September 1

Constitutionality of Biden's Tuition Debt Plan

According to the Constitution of the United States, Congress has the power of purse. A few days ago, President Biden announced a tuition loan relief program My question is that since Congress has the power of the purse, doesn't Congress need to pass a law (or something) to make this happen? A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 20:12, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

Wouldn't the power of the purse only extend to what level of funding is put into the student loan program? The actual loans - who receives them, what interest rates to charge, penalties and forgiveness - would seem to be fully under the control of the executive branch.--User:Khajidha (talk) (contributions) 23:40, 1 September 2022 (UTC)

This writeup gets into this question some:[1] ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 05:00, 2 September 2022 (UTC)

Thanks, Bugs, the answer to my question appears to be about half-way down in the article:

“ Biden's administration announced this relief using the authority under the HEROES Act of 2003, which grants the education secretary the ability to waive or modify student-loan balances in connection with a national emergency, like COVID-19 — but those threatening legal action have said the relief is an overreach and requires approval from Congress. ”

Here's another useful article I found in case anyone else is curious: Legality of Joe Biden's Student Loan Plan Relies on Coronavirus Pandemic, 2003 HEROES Law A Quest For Knowledge (talk) 10:17, 2 September 2022 (UTC)