"The Bush administration is proposing that Congress authorize it to buy billions of dollars in federal student loans to make sure the nation's credit crunch does not block borrowing for higher education," The New York Times reports. "The proposal, outlined in a letter to be sent Wednesday to members of Congress from the Education and Treasury Departments and the Office of Management and Budget, endorses a provision in a bill passed by the House this month. 'I want to make double-dog sure that we have the tools necessary' to make sure federal loans continue to be available, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said in an interview on Tuesday. 'If we don't need to use them, so be it.'"