A federal judge struck down the program.
QUICK FACTS:
- A Texas federal judge ruled that President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program was illegal, striking the program down.
- United States District Judge Mark Pittman called the program “one of the largest exercises of legislative power without congressional authority in the history of the United States.”
- Biden’s “Higher Education Relief Opportunities For Students Act” (HEROES) would have wiped out at least $500 billion in student debt.
- According to the judge, Biden’s program was a demonstration of unconstitutional presidential overreach.
- Pittman’s ruling was the result of a suit filed in October by the Job Creator’s Network Foundation, which made the case on behalf of a borrower who didn’t qualify for the entire $20,000 in student debt relief and another who was ruled ineligible.
- The pair were considered to have standing to sue due to the requirement that a plaintiff prove they were injured by the program.
FROM THE JUDGE’S RULING:
- “In this country, we are not ruled by an all-powerful executive with a pen and a phone. Instead, we are ruled by a Constitution that provides for three distinct and independent branches of government,” Pittman said.
- “The Court is not blind to the current political division in our country. But it is fundamental to the survival of our Republic that the separation of powers as outlined in our Constitution be preserved. And having interpreted the HEROES Act, the Court holds that it does not provide ‘clear congressional authorization for the Program proposed by the Secretary.”
- “Whether the Program constitutes good public policy is not the role of this Court to determine,” Pittman went on in the ruling. “Still, no one can plausibly deny that it is either one of the largest delegations of legislative power to the executive branch, or one of the largest exercises of legislative power without congressional authority in the history of the United States.”
BACKGROUND:
- The Biden administration has halted accepting applications for the student loan forgiveness program.
- The administration’s webpage for the program states, “Courts have issued orders blocking our student debt relief program. As a result, at this time, we are not accepting applications.”
- Multiple courts ruled the program unconstitutional, including a recent ruling in an appeals court that paused the program allowing time to consider a request for a long-term injunction.
