Supreme Court To Hear Arguments On Student Debt Forgiveness

Oral arguments will be presented before the Supreme Court over President Joe Biden’s plan to erase student loans, marking the beginning of a decision-making process that will have an effect on tens of millions of people in the United States.

The nine justices will consider two legal challenges to Vice President Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for borrowers. One of the challenges comes from six Republican-led states (Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Carolina), while the other is supported by the Job Creators Network Foundation, a conservative advocacy organization. Both challenges will be heard by the Supreme Court.

The nine justices will consider two legal challenges to Vice President Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for borrowers. One of the challenges comes from six Republican-led states (Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Carolina), while the other is supported by the Job Creators Network Foundation, a conservative advocacy organization. Both challenges will be heard by the Supreme Court.

Long before the current president took any action, Republicans have been condemning the cancellation of student loans as a form of welfare for affluent graduates. In addition to this, they contended that the president did not have the authority to cancel consumer debt on his own without first receiving authorization from Congress.

Biden’s policy has faced at least six lawsuits since it was rolled out in August. Dozens of Republican members of Congress have also filed briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan should be ruled unlawful.

Although consumer activists point out that huge financial firms and banks have been bailed out by the government after going through their own crises, there is no precedent in the history of the United States for the kind of widespread debt forgiveness that the White House has promised to deliver. And they think that it is vital to erase a significant portion of educational debt in order to provide relief to the many borrowers who are struggling due to a flawed lending system.

Although the Biden administration was forced to pull its loan forgiveness application portal shortly after it launched its plan due to legal challenges, the United States Department of Education has already been able to “fully approve” more than 16 million people for the relief and has even sent their paperwork to loan servicers.

Biden’s plan to cancel student debt is one of the most expensive presidential actions in the history of the United States, with an estimated cost of over $400 billion. It is highly likely that the justices will investigate whether or not the president has the authority to carry out such a comprehensive agenda.

The administration of President Joe Biden has consistently asserted that it is acting within the confines of the law. As evidence, they cite the Heroes Act of 2003, which gives the United States Secretary of Education the authority to alter policies pertaining to student loans in the event of a national emergency. Since March 2020, the nation has been functioning under the terms of an emergency declaration because of the Covid-19 virus.

The administration, according to opponents of the policy, is erroneously applying the statute that was passed following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Officials from the Biden campaign point out that the public health crisis has caused student loan debtors a significant amount of financial hardship, and that the debt cancellation plan is required in order to prevent a historic surge in the number of delinquencies and defaults.

Professor of political science at Ohio State University Gregory Caldeira told CNBC that he wouldn’t be surprised if the highest court rules against Biden.

“The court’s conservatives have been very aggressive in striking down the decisions of Congress and the president,” Caldeira said.