US President Joe Biden has promised to continue pursuing student debt relief in the United States, after the country’s top court blocked his plan to cancel billions of dollars in college loans.
In a ruling on Friday morning, the US Supreme Court said the Biden administration does not have the authority to cancel the debt of millions of Americans. The 6-3 decision was split along the court’s ideological lines with the conservative majority prevailing.
It deals an enormous blow to millions of borrowers and to a major policy and campaign promise by the Democratic president before the 2024 elections. Student loan relief has been a top demand of progressives, who argue that college debt is stifling young people’s social mobility and widening the racial wealth gap.
Critics have said it is unfair to those who had already paid for their own educations or who chose not to attend college. They also argue that loan forgiveness does not address the root causes of student debt – the soaring cost of higher education in the US.
“I know there are millions of Americans … who feel disappointed and discouraged and even a little bit angry about the court’s decision today on student debt. And I must admit I do, too,” Biden said in a speech at the White House later on Friday.
“My plan would not only have been life-changing for millions of Americans, it would have been good for the American economy, freeing millions of Americans from the crushing burden of student debt.”
The US president in August announced his student loan forgiveness plan, which would cancel $10,000 to $20,000 in debt that students and graduates mostly owe to the federal government.
But before the debt forgiveness applications became available, lower courts suspended the programme after lawsuits by Republican states.
The top court baulked at the price tag of the debt relief, estimated to be $430bn, saying the executive branch cannot move forward with the plan without explicit authorisation from Congress.
“Our precedent – old and new – requires that Congress speak clearly before a Department [of Education] secretary can unilaterally alter large sections of the American economy,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority.
Biden had relied on the HEROES Act, a 2003 law that allowed the Department of Education to provide student debt relief in cases of a “national emergency”.
Former President Donald Trump froze student loan payments at the outset of the pandemic in 2020. But that pause is due to expire this year, resuming what many students and graduates describe as a huge financial burden.
The Supreme Court ultimately decided that student loan forgiveness exceeds the powers granted by the HEROES Act.
With Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, Congress is unlikely to pass college debt relief legislation. (AlJazeera)