Comment The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to reinstate the student loan forgiveness program, saying its creation was within the authority of the education secretary and that a lower court ruling putting it on hold “leaves millions of financially vulnerable borrowers in the lurch.” ». The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit ruled 3-0 Monday to side with a Republican-led coalition of six states that asked the court to block any debt relief amid the ongoing litigation. The order will remain in effect until further notice from the court or the Supreme Court, according to the order. The decision comes days after a federal judge in a separate lawsuit in Texas declared Biden’s debt relief plan illegal, effectively preventing the Department of Education from accepting more applications and paying off any debt. This week, Justice Department lawyers asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit to stay the decision in the Texas case and asked the court to issue a decision by Dec. 1 “to allow the government to seek relief from Supreme Court” if necessary. U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar told the Supreme Court that if it chooses not to lift the 8th Circuit’s ban, it should “set the case for expeditious briefing and argument this term to avoid prolonging this uncertainty for the millions of affected borrowers.” Read the administration’s filing with the Supreme Court The Supreme Court on Friday asked the states to file a response by noon on Wednesday. Biden’s loan relief plan would cancel up to $10,000 in federal student debt for borrowers earning up to $125,000 a year or up to $250,000 for married couples. Those who received Pell Grants are eligible for an additional $10,000 in forgiveness. To date, more than 26 million people have applied for Biden’s debt relief program, and 16 million of those applications have been processed, according to the education department. The Justice Department released a 25-page memo that says the program is authorized by a 2003 law that authorizes the secretary of education “to alleviate hardships that recipients of federal student loans may experience as a result of national emergencies.” But Republican-led states and other opponents of the program argue that the scale of the loan cancellation, costing about $300 billion over 10 years, warrants congressional approval because of the economic and political importance. The suit was filed by six states — Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina — that sued the government in September. The states accuse the president of overstepping his authority and threatening the revenue state agencies earn from federal student loans. The 8th Circuit’s decision put the program on hold while these legal arguments proceed. The case is Biden v. United States State of Nebraska, et al.
