SAN ANTONIO — Today the Supreme Court said the Biden administration needed Congress' endorsement before undertaking the costly program. The majority rejected arguments that a bipartisan 2003 law dealing with national emergencies, known as the HEROES Act, gave Biden the power he claimed.
President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan sought to erase $10,000 in federal student loan debt for individuals with incomes below $125,000 a year, or households that earn less than $250,000 a year. President Biden also wanted to cancel an additional $10,000 for those who received federal Pell Grants to attend college.
Early on in the battle the court majority said Republican-led states showed they would be financially harmed if the program had been allowed to take effect.
Even before today's ruling the payment pause was set to expire 60 days after June 30th, which is August 30th. The U.S. Department of Education previously confirmed that student loan payments will be due again in October, with interest kicking in Sept. 1st. Effectively restarting loans that have been frozen since March of 2020.
We asked you what you thought about the Supreme Court Decision. Terry Whitson (@Cestmoi2023) said, "I am quite pleased. I went to college, got the degree i needed for my profession, paid off my student loans per the loan agreement. That is the way it was, and that is the way it should be."
Joan Cheever (@JoanCheever) responded, "PPP free loans for thee but loan forgiveness not for we? Shameful."
And Texan (@winkler32) answered, "If they can bail out banks time and time again, PPP loan forgiveness, and other bailouts they can bailout the American people that are suffering the most. The system has evolved into working for only the most successful. Something's gotta give for the working class.
At one point Biden doubted his authority to broadly cancel student debt, but announced the program last August anyway, with legal challenges quickly following.