Coronavirus: Harvard rejects Trump demand to pay back aid

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: BBC

Coronavirus: Harvard rejects Trump demand to pay back aid

22 April 2020
8 hours ago

Harvard University has pushed back against US President Donald Trump after he demanded it pay back nearly $9m (7.3m) in coronavirus relief aid.

The president said he was unhappy that the ultra-wealthy Ivy League college had received stimulus money.

But the university said the funds would help students facing "urgent financial needs" because of the pandemic.

Harvard is rated the world's wealthiest university with an endowment fund valued at $40bn.

At Tuesday's coronavirus briefing, Mr Trump told a journalist: "I want Harvard to pay that money back, OK? If they won't do that, we won't do something else.

"They have to pay it back, I don't like it. This is meant for workers, this isn't meant for one of the richest institutions, not only, far beyond schools in the world. They got to pay it back."

In a statement that followed, Harvard acknowledged receiving its $8.6m through the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (Cares) Act that Mr Trump signed last month.

But Harvard did not say it would pay the money back.

{snip}

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52376944

---

There was a thread in GD on Monday that provided a link to the Department of Education list of the schools and the amount they received.

Mormon Church gets $54 million in stimulus money

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213317431

The money did not go to the "Mormon church." It went to BYU. It went to a lot of schools.

Here's the list:

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/allocationsforsection18004a1ofcaresact.pdf

[Freedomofspeech]

1. I guess Harvard did not accept him back in the day....

But the trump hotels deserve that money.

[Arkansas Granny]

2. How does this happen. Who approved those payments?

Does this have something to do with the firing of the IG?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. Harvard applied the same as all the other schools. {see edit}

{edited, Thursday morning}
I don't know if Harvard applied, or if the grant happened automatically, with the amount based on some Department of Education algorithm.
{back to the original post}

Only a few schools did not apply -- Hillsdale, Christendom, Patrick Henry College, surely a few more. They don't take federal funds on principle.

Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (Cares) Act

{snip}

Student grants, student loans, and work-study programs

• Creates a $14 billion higher education emergency relief fund to provide cash grants to college students for costs such as course materials, technology, food, housing, and child care. Each college will determine which of its students receive cash grants.
• Payments of student loan principal and interest of by an employer to either an employee or a lender is not taxable to the employee if paid between March 27, 2020, and December 31, 2020. The maximum amount that is tax-free is $5,250 per employee.
• For college students in a federal work-study program, allows a school to continue to pay a student if the student is unable to fulfill their work-study obligation due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
• Gives students and colleges flexibility regarding the requirements for federal student financial aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Suspends payments and accrual of interest on federal student loans through September 30, 2020. Suspends garnishments and tax refund interception related to federal student loans through September 30, 2020.

[Renew Deal]

9. Liberty took the money

And are they open?

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

3. Harvard has always been greedy.

And I'm actually a Harvard man.

[FailureToCommunicate]

12. Are they greedier than Mormon schools getting $54 million in stimulus funds?

This is just Trump taking the opportunity to give his base another lie to chew on.

[Maribelle]

20. Harvard is not greedy. Perhaps you might just disagree with how they spend their money.

Just to name a few, they are inspirational in helping the needy in the Boston area, most notably with their free medical and likewise their pro-bono legal aid. And their research facilities have provided many medical advances to the world and free world class seminars.

[Grokenstein]

4. Aw lookit Donny watching out for the Little Guy.

I'm convinced, how about you?

[bucolic_frolic]

5. Oh, will he exclude the richest companies too?

I've not a lot of share-the-wealth sympathy for wealth in any form, even elite universities with grand endowments and the priciest of tuitions. They can look after their own.

[Roy Rolling]

7. This is Rich

Last edited Wed Apr 22, 2020, 09:15 AM - Edit history (2)

No pun intended.

A silver-spoon fake billionaire president demands the richest college in the world return the taxpayer charity he gave to Harvard and thousands of other wealthy organizations. Harvard rightly says “no” as do almost every other wealthy organization. Why should they be singled out?

Organizations who have recently received tax help from the government to allow them to be stronger in times of crisis.

[Renew Deal]

8. I don't know why they focus on Harvard when every school I can think of is on that list

Including other Ivy’s. I see everything from state schools to beauty schools on there. Liberty is on the list. I have to wonder why they took the money since they are open.

[FailureToCommunicate]

11. Not sure what you mean by "open". All the campuses are closed. Wage workers gone

Last edited Wed Apr 22, 2020, 11:50 AM - Edit history (1)

Harvard, to help employees, has as much right to the funds as all the zillions of other schools who applied for relief.

[Renew Deal]

13. Liberty brought back students

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/us/politics/coronavirus-liberty-university-falwell.html

[FailureToCommunicate]

14. Sorry, I misread your post.

[DeminPennswoods]

15. Harvard has a 40B endowment!

Maybe they could dip into that just this once to help their less financially secure students and staff.

As for BYU, they at least subsidize tuition for all their students.

[FailureToCommunicate]

19. They HAVE dipped into it, for students and staff. And Harvard DOES subsidize any student...

with financial need. Currently about 20% of students pay little or nothing.

[Progressive Jones]

21. Harvard is the favorite target of the illiteratii. nt

[MissMillie]

10. Nobody works at Harvard. (/sarcasm)

Harvard University is one of the largest employers in the state of Massachusetts.

(Back when I worked there, they were the second largest employer in the state. Only the Commonwealth of Massachusetts had more employees.)

[DeminPennswoods]

16. Just curious if Havard laid off employees who then

filed for UE in whichever state they live.

[MissMillie]

17. I don't know what the situation is there

but a post above

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2476402

indicates how this relief money would be used.

It is true that Harvard has the largest endowment. They are an enormous college and offer enormous amounts of financial aid. And an enormous employer.

[DeminPennswoods]

18. Penn State is a big employer here, too

As an alumni, they shouldn't have been awarded a min of 27M to a max of 55M. They are one of the most expensive state supported colleges in the US.

I am surprised the local Christian college that claims to eshew federal funds (so they don't have to obey Roe or offer a birth control option to health insurance) took 1M+.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

25. Per something I heard on WBZ a few weeks back, Fischer Scientific is the

largest private employer in New England. As in, a corporation that is in business to make money, as opposed to a government or a university.

WBZ is one of my most listened to stations. It blasts down the Atantic coast to northern Virginia as if it's across the street.

[MissMillie]

26. non-profit (n/t)

.

[FBaggins]

22. Didn't take long for Harvard to change their minds

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bostonherald.com/2020/04/22/harvard-blinks-university-wont-accept-9m-in-coronavirus-relief/amp/

[SKKY]

23. I actually don't have a problem with him requesting they pay the money back...

..It's Harvard for Christ's sake! Same for BYU. They can get help from the Mormon Church is they need it.

[FailureToCommunicate]

24. UPDATE: Harvard is saying they will not accept the stimulus $$ (they actually didn't get yet.)

There is no "pay back the money" if you actually haven't gotten the money in the first place.