Two high-profile lawsuits probing President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan to cancel up to $20,000 in borrowers’ debt, which lower courts temporarily blocked.
Six Republican-led states Arkansas, South Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri – argued that the debt relief would have a negative impact on their states’ revenues, as well as those of MOHELA, a Missouri-based student loan corporation.
HEROES Act of 2003
Two student loan borrowers, backed by the conservative Job Creators Network, brought the second case because they did not qualify for the full $20,000 amount of debt relief. One did not receive a Pell Grant, so he could not receive the full amount, and the other had commercially-held loans, which are not eligible under Biden’s plan.
The Biden administration has stated that the states and the borrowers lack standing, or the authority to block the plan by demonstrating they suffered harm from it, and that the HEROES Act of 2003 permits the education secretary to waive or modify student-loan balances during a national emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conservative judges constantly questioned whether Education Secretary Miguel Cardona abused his authority, but liberal justices asserted that he acted within his jurisdiction, during the protracted and heated debate over Biden’s debt relief.
The text of the HEROES Act dominated oral arguments as the conservative justices examined whether Biden’s plan to eliminate debt can be justified as a modification or waiver of student-loan obligations.
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Student Loan Forgiveness Arguments
However, on Tuesday, liberal US Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor dismissed conservative arguments against President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel student loans, encouraging the court to consider the tens of millions of affected students.
Sotomayor refutes this argument. Sotomayor questioned Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, on behalf of Biden, regarding the scope of the debt relief plan. She stated, “I assume your answer is that everyone suffered from the pandemic, but different people received different benefits because they qualified for different programs, is that correct?”
Prior to the arguments, Republican legislators also voiced their opinions on the question of fairness. Republican Senator Rick Scott said on Twitter, “that he believes it is unfair for YOU to pay down the student loan obligations of a small proportion of Individuals who opted to take out loans. Don’t you?”
It is unknown in which direction the court’s conservative majority will lean. Amy Coney Barrett, a conservative justice, joined the liberal justices in challenging the standing of both cases, but Biden’s debt relief plan would require the vote of one extra conservative justice.
Despite this, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona expressed confidence that the plan will succeed in the face of opposition.
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