Supreme Court considers Biden’s student loan plan

The Supreme Court justices questioned the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan in nearly four hours of oral argument on Tuesday. Justice John Roberts questioned the administration’s definition of “modify” and seemed to indicate that the plan did more than that. Roberts also questioned whether the executive branch should be deciding the fate of large amounts of taxpayer money. Two student borrowers and six Republican-led states sued over the plan. So far, more than 26 million people have applied for $10,000 to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness, and more than 16 million applicants have been approved. The plan will cost $400 billion over 30 years, the Congressional Budget Office said.

What’s the main argument before the court? The Biden administration is arguing that the state of emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic gives them the authority to forgive student loans. The HEROES Act of 2003 says the Secretary of Education may “waive or modify” statutes so that borrowers are not placed in a worse financial position because of a national emergency. 

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Dunn’s report in Schooled about the cases that brought Biden’s plan to the Supreme Court.