Originally published June 30, 2023 8:10 am PDT
In a definitive 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court put a halt to the Biden administration’s $400 billion student loan forgiveness plan on Friday, ruling that the government had exceeded its authority in attempting to wipe away the loan obligations of millions of students at the expense of American taxpayers.
The court’s conservative justices formed the majority in this ruling.
Joe Biden announced this ambitious plan last year with the intention of easing the financial burden of many who decided to take on student loan debt.
However, the Supreme Court, in its interpretation, stated that the implementation of such an expensive program required congressional approval.
They found no validity in arguments suggesting that the bipartisan 2003 HEROES Act empowered the President with the necessary authority.
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court, stated, “Six States sued, arguing that the HEROES Act does not authorize the loan cancellation plan. We agree.”
This effectively ended the proposed program, leaving those who accepted debt responsible for repayment, which is set to recommence toward the end of summer.
The court’s three liberal justices opposed this decision, with Justice Elena Kagan authoring the dissenting view.
She claimed, along with the others, that the majority’s decision “overrides the combined judgment of the Legislative and Executive Branches, with the consequence of eliminating loan forgiveness for 43 million Americans.”
The student loan repayment process, paused since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic over three years ago, is scheduled to recommence by the end of August, as originally planned by the administration and stipulated in the agreement to raise the debt ceiling.
Biden’s now thwarted loan forgiveness scheme aimed to eliminate $10,000 of student loan debt for individuals earning less than $125,000 or households with less than $250,000 in income.
Additionally, Pell Grant recipients, who usually indicate higher financial need, would have received an extra $10,000 in debt relief.
According to the administration, approximately twenty-six million people applied for this relief and forty-three million people would have qualified.
The total cost was projected to be $400 billion over three decades.
Read the full opinion below:
