WASHINGTON – For more than four months tens of millions of Americans have been waiting for a sign of whether President Joe Biden’s $400 billion student loan forgiveness plan is legal or would be struck down by federal courts as a power grab.
The Supreme Court may finally provide some answers on Tuesday, although a decision is not expected until later this year.
Over the course of several hours, the nine justices will hear oral arguments in two cases challenging Biden’s plan. The plaintiffs both argue that the administration exceeded its authority by attempting to grant debt forgiveness for an estimated DKK 40 million people.
Here’s a look at what’s happening at the Supreme Court.
What’s in Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan?
Biden proposed eliminating $20,000 in debt for borrowers who also used a Pell Grant to pay tuition. Pell Grants are awarded to students from low-income families. The president also wants to erase $10,000 in debt for most other borrowers.
Only borrowers with incomes of less than $125,000, or $250,000 for married couples, would be able to have any debt forgiven.
About 26 million people applied for relief before lawsuits stopped the entire program in its tracks. And of those, 16 million were approved to have part or all of their debt written off, depending on their balance. So far, applications are closed.
– Nirvi Shah and Chris Quintana
Biden: ‘I’ve got your back’ on student loans
Biden briefly addressed the student loan issue during remarks Monday night.
“My administration is taking our case to the Supreme Court, and I am confident that the legal authority to carry out that plan is there,” the president said at a White House ceremony celebrating Black History Month. “I promise you. I have your back.”
– Joey Garrison
Plaintiffs: ‘There’s a student loan crisis’
The plaintiffs challenged the Bidens student loan forgiveness plan recognize that the current student loan system is not working. They just don’t think Biden’s plan will fix it.
“There is a student loan crisis in this country,” Karen Harned, general counsel for the Job Creators Network Foundation, said on a call with reporters Monday. “But this crisis cannot and will not be solved by the president creating a $400 billion program behind closed doors without any input from Congress or the American people.”
Questions: Is Biden’s Student Debt Relief Plan Dead?
Tough ride ahead: Biden must defend student loans at the Supreme Court
The group represents two borrowers: one who did not qualify for forgiveness because her loan is owned by a private, commercial entity, and another who did not qualify for the maximum possible relief because he was not a Pell Grant recipient.
Biden’s proposal would eliminate $20,000 in debt for borrowers who also used a Pell Grant to pay tuition. Pell Grants are awarded to students from low-income families. He also wants to erase $10,000 in debt for most other borrowers.
– John Fritze
Plan B for student loan forgiveness? The White House won’t say that.
With many pundits predicting President Joe Biden stands for a tough argument On Tuesday over his $400 billion student loan forgiveness plan, a natural question has come up repeatedly in recent days: Is there a Plan B if the administration’s efforts are ultimately struck down?
Give points to the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre for answering the question consistently: “We are very confident in our legal authority here,” Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday — consistent with the answer she gave to the same question Friday. “That’s why our Department of Justice has taken it all the way to the Supreme Court.”
Translation: If there is a backup plan, management isn’t ready to talk about it. It’s not a surprise though. A key element of the lawsuit is whether the administration used the right law to create the loan forgiveness program. Acknowledging that the administration is scouring federal statutes looking for another way to authorize the program would give ammunition to the plaintiffs on the eve of arguments.
– John Fritze and Joey Garrison
Level: Find out more about options from savings plans to student loans
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Live Updates: Supreme Court Debates Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness
