By CASEY HARPER | THE CENTER SQUARE
A coalition of states has filed a legal challenge to President Joe Biden’s latest executive effort to forgive a portion of Americans’ student loan debt.
The lawsuit comes after Biden on Monday announced the plan, which the states in question say is an overreach of executive authority. The White House claims that Biden has so far canceled at least some of the debt for 4 million Americans, totaling $146 billion so far.
The White House said the newest effort would partially forgive debt for 30 million Americans, though independent analyses have not confirmed that figure.
“With the stroke of his pen, Joe Biden is attempting to saddle working Missourians with a half trillion dollars in college debt,” Missouri Attorney General Bailey, who is helping lead the legal challenge, said in a statement. “The United States Constitution makes clear that the President lacks the authority to unilaterally ‘cancel’ student loan debt for millions of Americans without express permission from Congress. The President does not get to thwart the Constitution when it suits his political agenda.”
The lawsuit points out that Biden already tried once before to forgive large swaths of student debt but that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down that effort last June.
“Just last year, the Supreme Court struck down an attempt by the President to force teachers, truckers, and farmers to pay for the student loan debt of other Americans — to the enormous tune of $430 billion,” the lawsuit said. “In striking down that attempt, the Court declared that the President cannot ‘unilaterally alter large sections of the American economy.’ Undeterred, the President is at it again, even bragging that ‘the Supreme Court blocked it. They blocked it. But that didn’t stop me.’”
There is no official cost estimate yet for the plan, but experts raised concerns about the already ballooned national debt, which is on pace to hit $35 trillion this year.
“You can’t solve a very real debt problem by issuing more debt,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said in a statement. “The President’s previous student loan cancellation plan was expensive, inflationary, poorly targeted, and would have boosted rather than reduced tuitions. This plan similarly misses the mark.”
Critics point out that debt is not “forgiven” or “canceled,” but that the expense is transferred to taxpayers.
“This is nothing but a political ploy to buy votes in an election year,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The Supreme Court already ruled that Joe Biden’s student loan scheme is ILLEGAL. This is not loan forgiveness – it’s debt redistribution.”
The debt forgiveness in question will be enacted through a proposed federal rule, which means it has a lengthy process ahead and could be overturned if Republicans win in November.
The plan would cancel as much as $20,000 in interest for borrowers whose interest on unpaid debt has continued to grow over time, regardless of income. The plan would help those with undergraduate debt who have been paying for more than 20 years and graduate debt paid for more than 25 years.
Those major components come alongside several other miscellaneous forgiveness efforts tailored to specific federal programs Biden has been announcing since taking office.
Biden argued during remarks in Madison, Wisconsin Monday afternoon that for many Americans, their debt is too great a burden.
“Today, too many Americans, especially young people, are saddled with unsustainable debts in exchange for a college degree,” Biden said. “The ability for working- and middle-class folks to repay their student loans has become so burdensome that a lot can’t repay it for even decades after being in school.”
Even before the lawsuit, Biden’s plan to forgive even more student loan debt was taking fire from Republicans and budget experts.
“By ‘cancelling student loan debt,’ Joe Biden is telling blue-collar workers he doesn’t care about them,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wrote on X, formerly known as twitter. “This is nothing but a vote-buying scheme by the Democrats.”
Signing onto the lawsuit are Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, and Oklahoma.
“This plan completely violates the administrative pay-as-you-go requirement put in place by last summer’s Fiscal Responsibility Act,” MacGuineas said. “That provision was put in place to require any significant regulations from adding to deficits, but the administration has abused its ability to waive these requirements – which is intended only for regulations that are ‘necessary for the delivery of essential services’ or ‘necessary for effective program delivery.'”
Funny how Grandpa Bloodstains is “saving” democracy by ignoring the rule of law.
Reminds me of SNL back when it was funny. Maybe Python. Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges.
How about if there is a student loan forgiveness it comes from universities endowments?
Universities are the ones that often sell a bill of goods to the young. They aught clean up their own mess.
How is it fair for a working class person who has zero loan forgiveness to subsidize others?
It was government’s rampant proliferation of easy student loan money that made it possible for colleges/universities to have an ever growing market to “sell” to in the first place and at an ever-increasing price-tag.
Easy student loan money begets increases in tuition which begets increases in student loan amounts which begets increases in tuition, etc. and on and on. Any legit economist knows this as well as Newton knows the law of gravity. Textbook outcome.
So what we see now is government trying to use more taxpayer money to buy votes by claiming to fix a problem that government largesse created in the first place (but won’t admit to.)
“By ‘cancelling student loan debt,’ Joe Biden is telling blue-collar workers he doesn’t care about them,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wrote…”
I’m a white collar worker and Biden doesn’t care about me either. I faithfully repaid my college loans with interest. Why am I not entitled to a rebate equivalent to the forgiveness now being granted to similar debtors?
My kids worked their way through college and I paid tuition. The family sacrificed greatly for this. Once again progressives punish responsibility. We wonder why our school systems and students are failing, and why there is no fiscal responsibility among the younger generation. Just look to the White House to the rotten core of these failures. To them there cannot be a failure, someone else will always be there to bail you out, until they aren’t. Everything progressives-democrats of late-touch turns to sh!t, This is not the party I grew up with.
There is no such thing as debt forgiveness. It is time to reject this premise outright and call it what it is- debt transfer.
The best life is an illegal alien in a U.S. college letting tax payers foot the bill.
Sounds like Lisa Murkowski’s dream.
This Biden plan is similar in some respects to what would be the case in Alaska were we to have a state income tax concurrent with the PFD. Alaska would be taxing the people who have enough gumption to get up and go to work every day, and then handing out money to everyone regardless of effort or initiative. Now I know that there is a limit to the similarities. Student loan forgiveness is targeted to help people Biden hopes will vote for him again whereas the PFD goes to all Alaskans as a share of the petroleum wealth that would instead go to pay for even larger and more generous government programs. I expect Biden will soon be resurrecting the Obama plan to pay black people for the slavery that ended in the 19th century, that will also be an effort to help him in November. I really don’t expect an Alaska state income tax any time soon, and I hope Biden’s plans continue to fail.
In Juneau and in Washington, DC the elites don’t realize how harmful to the economy government spending really is. Governments don’t create the goods and services we need. When the federal government over spends we see a devaluation of the dollar, but we also see interest rates rise and the combination of inflation and higher inflation cause economic dislocation that can last a generation or longer. A number of times in our history the remedy for that economic dislocation has been war. It’s disconcerting to me that the US has been in several wars since WWII, and we have not won any of those.
Banjo Boy tries yet again to subvert, corrupt and undermine everything right, proper, good and decent in the USA. His agenda is clearly one of pure evil.
“Forgiveness.”
A term that seems lost on America today. WHO can forgive? The one who must sacrifice what was deserved or “coming to him” or her from the one being forgiven.
If Biden had loaned out his OWN money, he could forgive the recipient. And no one could stop him.
But if Biden loaned nothing, then nothing can be forgiven.
How are we losing the thread here?
Good. Those of us who paid our loans in full should not be responsible for paying loans of students who have been irresponsible and obtained a worthless degree or just don’t pay. Can I have a tax credit? I doubt it.
Yes and I want forgiveness also say no more taxes.
It’s only money folks…. The Bidens have plenty.
It comes easy when one has rats and snakes doing the dirty work for “The Big Guy”
As for the working class they have had it too easy. They can pony up and get a second job to cough up the extra money for much deserved spring break drunk fests to relieve themselves of all the late night frat parties and orgies that makes going to college such a drain on the wallet.
My son Hunter went to college…Its only right and fitting that someone else should have to pay for him becoming such a brilliant provider (prostitute) with uncle Frank in tow to carry the load when Hunter was preoccupied.
Is this another distraction? Get us looking another way while something is happening unnoticed?
Obama – the gift that keeps on giving. In 2010 he federalized the student loan program as part of the “Affordable” Care Act. Revamping the student loan industry was “going to save American taxpayers $10B over 10 years.”
More of BO’s fundamental transformation of America.
Leftists have no qualms about spending your money so they can look good.
Suing won’t do much. He has no Fsto give about what courts say. Unless they’re used against his opponents. Total Dick-tater
This is vote buying pure and simple. It ignores the real problem which is out of control tuition to institutions run by radical leftists who hate America. Instead of cleaning house it is far easier to clean out the wallets of the uneducated and unwashed. Don’t worry people Joe has your back, ignore the knife.
Long ago they sat for election.
Then they stood for election.
More recently they’ve ran for election.
Now they give away your money for election.
Loan forgiveness can be good for a government. Typically graduates make more money and pay higher tax rates. A win win. Some careers are filled because of low turnout. Again, a win win.
What are you talking about?