It says "[the Secretary] may waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial assistance programs under title IV of th

It says "[the Secretary] may waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial assistance programs under title IV of the [Education Act] as the Secretary deems necessary in connection with a war or other military operation or national emergency." So "waive or modify" refers to a regulatory provision of the loans, not the loans themselves. This makes it far less convincing that Congress intended for the loans themselves to be waived.