President Joe Biden’s $400 billion student loan forgiveness plan is not working out quite in his favor.
Previously, federal judges have blocked the program from happening, while states are now challenging the president’s plan, which would let students walk away from being responsible for their loans.
Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and South Carolina have asked the Supreme Court to reject the Biden Administration’s request to reinstate his student debt program.
The states argue that Biden’s false claim that it is a “Covid-related emergency” for why student loan payments need to be stopped is an “unlawful” abuse of the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (HEROES) Act of 2003.
“The Act requires a real connection to a national emergency. But the Department’s reliance on the COVID-19 pandemic is a pretext to mask the President’s true goal of fulfilling his campaign promise to erase the student-loan debt,” the states wrote.
In their response, the states say that Biden failed to explain how the cancellation of the student loan debt connects to a national emergency.
“Hiding the real motive, the agency attempts to connect the Cancellation to the pandemic by citing current economic conditions supposedly caused by COVID-19. But those conditions are not directly attributable to the pandemic, so the Department has failed to adequately link the Cancellation to a national emergency,” the states said.
Additionally, the six states say that the Biden Administration is trying to “assert power far beyond anything Congress could have conceived.”
The Biden Administration now can file a reply brief. After that, it is up to the courts to issue an order.
The Democrat has defended its program, claiming that the court’s decision to block it would leave millions of people economically in ruins.