Just a few months ago, millions of college students and graduates rejoiced as the Biden administration announced its student loan forgiveness plan. The measure offered up to $20,000 to borrowers as well as caps on college tuition and interest payment incentives. Soon after, the government began accepting applications for student loan forgiveness and approved relief for over 16 million borrowers.
Although borrowers may have enjoyed a sigh of relief, it may be too soon to get comfortable. The Biden administration has stopped accepting new applications for relief after multiple attempts to block the plan’s implementation. The program was previously paused due to Republican-led efforts to ban Biden’s response, and a Texas judge recently declared his plan unconstitutional. Mark Pittman, the judge in question, argued that the White House overestimated its delegated powers.
“In this case, the HEROES Act- a law to provide loan assistance to military personnel defending our nation- does not provide the executive branch with clear congressional authorization to create a $400 billion student loan forgiveness program. The Program is thus an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s legislative power and must be vacated.”
With the student loan moratorium set to end in January, all eyes are on the White House in anticipation for the outcome.
