WASHINGTON – Six Republican-led states sued on Thursday to block President Biden from writing off billions of dollars in student loan debt, even as the administration tries to avoid a court challenge by reducing number of people eligible for relief.
Federal court complaint by Leslie Rutledge, attorney general of the Republican Party of Arkansas, accuse Mr. Biden about exceeding his powers last month when he announced the government would forgive student debt of up to $20,000 each, a sweeping move that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated. could be worth 400 billion dollars during the next three decades.
“President Biden’s illegal political play puts self-imposed college loan debt on the backs of millions of hardworking Americans who are struggling to pay their utility bills and home loans amid the inflation of the United States. Biden,” Ms. Rutledge said in a statement on Thursday. “President Biden does not have the authority to arbitrarily write off the college debt of those who have chosen to take out those loans.”
The legal challenge could delay one of Mr Biden’s signature achievements just weeks before the midterm elections, which will determine who controls Congress for the balance of the presidency. Nearly 40 million people with outstanding college loans could benefit under the president’s plan, even after the administration cut about 700,000 borrowers from the program on Thursday in an effort to stave off lawsuits. .
The states of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, South Carolina and Nebraska joined the lawsuit, attacking Mr. Biden’s claim that the debt relief was justified by federal law that authorizes health emergency actions such as coronavirus pandemic.
Republican officials in those states noted that Biden recently declared the pandemic over in an interview with “60 Minutes” on CBS.
Abdullah Hasan, a White House spokesman, said the lawsuit was trying to prevent Mr. Biden from providing much-needed relief to people struggling with the consequences of the pandemic.
What you need to know about Student Loan Debt Relief
“Republican officials from these six states are standing by special interests and fighting to stop bailouts for borrowers buried under mountains of debt,” Hasan said. “The president and his administration are legally giving working and middle-class families a breather as they recover from the pandemic and prepare to resume loan payments in January.”
Lawsuit, first report by the Associated Press, is the second attempt this week to shut down the debt-relief program, which has been one of the president’s main achievements during his nearly two years in office. On Tuesday, a conservative law group File a lawsuit seeks to prevent debt cancellation, saying the program will force people to pay taxes on the debt that has been written off.
In light of the latest legal challenges, the Department of Education on Thursday announced that it will no longer forgive students who have federal student loans held by private companies. Disqualifying those students could make it difficult for the Republican attorney general to successfully attack the entire program in court.
Only about 770,000 people are holding that type of debt, out of about 40 million who can still apply for relief, according to officials. Students with federal student loans will be eligible for the $10,000 relief, while students with the low-income Pell grant will be able to apply for debt forgiveness. $20,000.
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Mr. Biden argued for more than a year before announcing the new policy last month, making good on a campaign promise that won him support from progressives and students.
But the decision has sparked fury from many conservatives, who say Mr Biden is shifting a huge financial burden from students who already have debt to taxpayers who have paid for college without paying for college. borrowed money or chose not to go to college in the first place. place.
The president’s move to cancel student debt has also drawn criticism from some libertarians, who say it doesn’t go far enough, and others who say the plan would cancel debt for a few years. the number of students who can afford to be rich enough to pay off the loans. backside.
Administration officials said the president has the legal authority to cancel the debt based on a 2003 law known as the Heroes Act, which allows the education secretary to waive regulations related to the loans. student loans during times of war or national emergency. The United States is still in the state of emergency that President Donald J. Trump declared at the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
The lawsuit filed by Republican officials argues that the authors of the Heroes Act never intended to use it for things like debt relief across the country. In a brief filing with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, state officials noted that the law had previously been used to waive bureaucratic regulations regarding student loans for students. those who are serving in the army.
“There is no statute that allows President Biden to unilaterally remove his obligation to pay off loans he voluntarily authorizes,” argued succinctly. “It is unthinkable that, in passing the Heroes Act, Congress thought they were authorizing anything like the administration’s widespread debt cancellation, which would result in losses of about half a thousand dollars. billion dollars or more to the federal treasury.”
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One of the first hurdles for Republican officials is to establish that they are “qualified” to challenge the president’s policy, by demonstrating that the interests of their states will be harmed. if the student debt relief goes into effect. If the court determines that the officials are not permanent, the case will not proceed.
In their brief, Republican state officials argued that Biden’s policy change would harm private companies in their state that provide some federal student loans. That could make it harder for residents of the states to get loans to attend college.
Politically, a lawsuit by Republican officials could deprive Mr. Biden and Democrats of a crucial victory just weeks before the midterm elections. Many parts of the president’s coalition – especially young people – were invigorated by his announcement.
But there is evidence that the president’s debt forgiveness policy will disproportionately benefit low- and middle-income people in the South and in rural areas – many of whom are communities. republican. A study by Liberty Street Economics found that the places with the highest average student debt are Washington, DC; North Carolina; Georgia; South Carolina; Alabama; Mississippi; and West Virginia.
On Thursday, even as Republican officials filed a lawsuit, the Biden administration pushed ahead, releasing new details on how students will apply for debt cancellation and use social media. to publicize the program.
In a series of tweets from the official White House Twitter account, the administration said student loan holders will be able to apply between October 2022 and December 31, 2023 and urged students to do the same. so.
“The app will be short and simple,” one of the tweets said. “You will not need to sign in with your FSA ID or upload any supporting documents to complete it.”
