The Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Biden administration cannot go forward with its student loan debt handout program.
In a 6-3 decision, the court held that federal law does not allow the Secretary of Education to cancel more than $430 billion in student loan debt.
“The Secretary’s plan canceled roughly $430 billion of federal student loan balances, completely erasing the debts of 20 million borrowers and lowering the median amount owed by the other 23 million from $29,400 to $13,600,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority. “Six States sued, arguing that the HEROES Act does not authorize the loan cancellation plan. We agree.”
The initiative, which had been on hold pending litigation, involved the federal government providing up to $10,000 in debt relief – and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients – for people who make less than $125,000 a year. The program was expected to cost the government more than $400,000.
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Biden made the unprecedented push for debt cancelation in August 2022, and his administration accepted some 16 million applications before Republicans objected and the program was put on hold.
Republicans argued Biden lacked the authority to unilaterally forgive student loans. Estimates from the Congressional Budget Office said Biden’s plan would cost taxpayers roughly $400 billion. Republicans were outraged at the total, arguing the forgiveness would be unfair to those who either paid their way through college, repaid their loans, or never attended college in the first place.
Biden’s Education Department had already been exploring potential workarounds to offer handouts via other means in anticipation of a ruling against the administration.
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Republicans unveiled their own plan to address student loans and high college costs in June, introducing a series of five bills. The plan from Senate Republicans supports programs aimed at making sure students understand the real cost of college and also shuts off loans for programs that do not result in salaries that are high enough to justify those loans.
“This would prevent some of the worst examples of students being exploited for profit. It would force schools to bring down cost and to compete for students. What an idea,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said of the bill. “It would also protect students from getting buried in debt they can never, ever pay.”
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