Student Loan Forgiveness: Supreme Court To Review Second Appeal Over Biden’s Plan
The Supreme Court announced it will hear a second case on President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program in February, according to court filings, while millions of borrowers await their fate.
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This will be the second case the Supreme Court will hear, as the administration had turned to the Supreme Court on Nov. 18 to vacate the nationwide injunction put in place on Nov. 14 by a federal appeals court, temporarily barring Biden’s student loan debt relief program. On Dec. 1, the Supreme Court said it would hear that case also in February.
The second case stems from a federal judge in Texas striking down the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness program on Nov. 10, saying that the law “does not provide the executive branch clear congressional authorization to create a $400 billion student loan forgiveness program,” according to court documents.
In turn, the administration announced on Nov. 22 that the student loan pause — which was set to end Dec. 31, 2022– will be extended to the end of June 2023 while the administration awaits the Supreme Court’s review of its student debt relief program, as GOBankingRates previously reported.
“The Administration is extending the pause on federal student loan repayments to allow for the Supreme Court to rule in the case on the student debt relief program. The pause will end no later than June 30, 2023. Payments will resume 60 days after the pause ends,” the White House tweeted.
A notice on StudentAid.gov now reads: “Courts have issued orders blocking our student debt relief program. As a result, at this time, we are not accepting applications. We are seeking to overturn those orders.”
On Dec. 1, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the administration welcomed the Supreme Court’s first decision to hear the case on the student debt relief plan for middle and working class borrowers this February.
“This program is necessary to help over 40 million eligible Americans struggling under the burden of student loan debt recover from the pandemic and move forward with their lives. The program is also legal, supported by careful analysis from administration lawyers. President Biden will keep fighting against efforts to rob middle class families of the relief they need and deserve. As we previously announced, student loan payments will remain paused while the Supreme Court resolves the case,” she said in the statement.
However, as GOBankingRates previously reported, several experts are now saying that Biden’s student loan forgiveness will likely be deemed illegal.
“The court’s conservatives have been very aggressive in striking down the decisions of Congress and the president,” Gregory Caldeira, a political science professor at Ohio State University, told CNBC earlier this month. “I would not be surprised if the court invalidated the executive order.”
This ruling could come in stark contrast to what many Americans are thinking, as 51% support the Biden administration’s student debt relief program, compared to 39% who oppose it, according to a recent The Economist/YouGov survey.
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Student Loan Forgiveness: What To Do If You’ve Already Applied
Under the Biden plan, up to $10,000 in federal student debt relief may be offered to borrowers whose income in 2020 or 2021 was less than $125,000 (or $250,000 for households). That figure rises to up to $20,000 in student loan cancellation for Pell Grant recipients. If you are a dependent student, your eligibility is based on your parental income. Most federal loans are eligible, including undergraduate and graduate direct loans, Parent PLUS and Grad PLUS loans, consolidation loans. Federal Family Education Loan program loans held by the Education Department, Perkins loans held by ED and defaulted loans, according to StudentAid.gov.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Student Loan Forgiveness: Supreme Court To Review Second Appeal Over Biden’s Plan
