Student loan borrowers rally as US supreme court hears debt relief cases
theguardian.comStudent loan borrowers braved a cold snap on Tuesday to gather on the steps of the US supreme court as justices inside heard arguments for two crucial cases that could determine the fate of Joe Biden’s giant loan forgiveness program aimed at easing a financial burden for millions of Americans.
The president’s plan to clear up to $20,000 in debt for nearly 40 million student loan borrowers has hit several roadblocks since it was announced in August of last year amid staunch Republican opposition that has taken to the courts to block it.
The most notable challengers are six Republican-led states – Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina – that claim Biden greatly overstepped his authority by circumventing Congress to enact the debt relief plan now under scrutiny by the nation’s highest court.
Other challengers include Myra Brown and Alexander Taylor, two plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit in in Texas, arguing that people like them would be harmed by Biden’s loan forgiveness plan since they would not benefit from it. Brown is not eligible for relief under the plan and Taylor is eligible for the $10,000 in student debt relief, not the full $20,000.
But in November, the Intercept reported Brown, a small business owner, benefited from another pandemic-era loan forgiveness scheme called the Paycheck Protection Program, in which $47,996 of loan debt for her business were forgiven.
Biden invoked the 2003 Heroes Act in order to cancel student loan debt, which gives the US secretary of education, Miguel Cardona, authority to make changes to any provision of the law applicable to student aid programs during national emergencies, like the aftermath of 9/11, or in this case, the Covid-19 pandemic.
The decision that will
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