Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Student Debt Relief Plan
In the Nov. 16 issue of the ADEA Advocate, we reported that
several states Attorneys General (NE, et. al. v. Biden) had been among groups challenging
the Biden-Harris administration’s targeted debt cancelation program announced
on Aug. 24. The U.S. District Court judge in the case dismissed the suit due to
a lack of standing by the plaintiffs. However, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
subsequently stayed the loan forgiveness program from being implemented anywhere
in the country while it considers the case. The administration asked the U.S.
Supreme Court (SCOTUS) to review the circuit court’s stay and SCOTUS granted
that request on Dec. 1, setting oral arguments for some time in February 2023.
The states challenging the program—Nebraska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri
and South Carolina— argue primarily that the Department of Education does not
have the authority to cancel loans in these circumstances. The states say the
pandemic is just being used as “pretext” for fulfilling the Biden-Harris administration’s
campaign promise to cancel debt, and they contend that in addition to being fiscally
irresponsible, the program will specifically harm the states’ loan authorities—state
or nonprofit organizations that service federal loans—by reducing their revenue.
The administration counters by stating that its authority under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities
for Students (HEROS) Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-76) gives it the authority in a “war, military
operation, or national emergency,” and that the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency qualifies under the definition.
