The United States Supreme Court on Friday has said President Joe Biden does not have the authority to forgive the roughly $400 billion student loan debt, dismissing the administration’s bold claims of power.
The vote which was 6 to 3 along ideological lines, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Junior writing for the court’s dominant conservatives.
The President contended his govt had the authority to forgive student loan debt under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003, allowed education secretary to waive or modify loan provisions in response to a national emergency, such as the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona proposed a plan that would eliminate up to $10,000 of student debt for borrowers earning up to $125,000 annually, or up to $250,000 for married couples.
Those who received Pell Grants, a form of financial aid for low- and middle-income students, would be eligible for an additional $10,000 in forgiveness. About 20 million borrowers could see their balances wiped clean.
But the challenge brought together controversial issues: an ambitious program aimed at fulfilling campaign promise for Biden’s political base; heightened suspicion by Supreme Court’s conservative.
Supermajority about the ability of Federal Agencies to act without specific congressional authorization; and the power of Republican-led states to use the judiciary to stop a president’s priorities before they take effect.
Solicitor General, Elizabeth Prelogar, who defended the program at oral arguments, said Cardona’s actions are not only justified by the law, but they are also exactly what Congress had in mind when it passed Heroes Act in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
But the Supreme Court majority — Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — disagreed.
“The Secretary asserts that the HEROES Act grants him the authority to cancel $430 billion of student loan principal. It does not,” Roberts wrote.
“We hold today that the Act allows the Secretary to ‘waive or modify’ existing statutory or regulatory provisions applicable to financial assistance programs under the Education Act, not to rewrite that statute from the ground up.”
Reacting to the Court’s decision, the President said his Administration’s student debt relief plan would have been the lifeline to tens of millions of hardworking Americans needed as they try to recover from a once-in- a-century pandemic.
Biden pointed out that the hypocrisy of Republican elected officials is stunning. “They had no problem with billions in pandemic-related loans to businesses including hundreds of thousands and in some cases millions of dollars for their own businesses.
“And those loans were forgiven. But when it came to providing relief to millions of hard-working Americans, they did everything in their power to stop it.
The President who said the court decision is disappointing, urged his administration not to lose sight of the progress which has already made, making historic increases to Pell Grants.
“Forgiving loans for teachers, firefighters, and others in public service; and creating a new debt repayment plan, so no one with an undergraduate loan has to pay more than 5 percent of their discretionary income.
“I will stop at nothing to find other ways to deliver relief to hard-working middle-class families. My Goverment will continue to work to bring the promise of higher education to every American”, he reiterated.