May 30, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Trump vetoes effort to ease restrictions on student loan forgiveness

President Trump with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on March 2. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

President Trump moved to protect regulations issued by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that restrict federal student loan forgiveness in a veto issued Friday night.

The big picture: Several veterans' groups have argued that the rules, which make it more difficult for student borrowers to prove that a college defrauded them, will harm former service members cheated by for-profit colleges, the New York Times reports.

What they're saying: Trump said the vetoed legislation "sought to reimpose an Obama-era regulation that defined educational fraud so broadly that it threatened to paralyze the Nation’s system of higher education."

"@realDonaldTrump's decision today to veto the #bipartisan resolution, against the request of 3 dozen veterans organizations, is a blow to #veterans, #servicemembers & their families," the advocacy organization Veterans Education Success tweeted Friday.

What's next: The new rules are expected to go into effect on July 1, per the Times.

Go deeper: DeVos urged by 51 AGs to cancel disabled veterans' student debts

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Jun 24, 2020 - Health

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Even while still living in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, we're starting to see the long-term effects of lost schooling, curtailed travel and shuttered businesses.

Why it matters: The U.S. will see some $7.9 trillion in lost economic growth through this decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The World Bank, meanwhile, predicts global gross domestic product will shrink by 5.2% in 2020 alone — nearly three times as much as the 2009 recession.

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Jun 23, 2020 - Technology

End of broadband pledge could cut lifelines for families

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

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Why it matters: Cutting off internet service for families and students will worsen the loss of knowledge and academic skills that students face over the summer, as well as sever lifelines for those who need broadband connections for work, summer school, searching for jobs and getting news.