Proponents of student debt relief hope that President Joe Biden could still forgive loan amounts if his proposed plan is halted by the Supreme Court.
During his presidential campaign in 2020, Biden frequently promised to come up with a loan forgiveness strategy, and last summer he finally introduced his plan. Under his executive action, borrowers making less than $125,000 a year ($250,000 for households) will qualify for $10,000 in student loan forgiveness. Those who received a low-income Pell Grant will qualify for $20,000.
The plan was swiftly met with pushback from Republicans, who have long opposed student loan forgiveness initiatives. Following a lawsuit filed by several GOP-led states, the fate of Biden's plan now lies with the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule on it soon. Given that conservative justices dominate the Court with a 6-3 majority, the odds of the plan's survival appear low.
Progressive activists and politicians have forged on nevertheless, arguing that Biden has the authority to forgive student loans if the Court strikes down his executive action. Astra Taylor, the co-founder of the 50,000-member Debt Collective union, is advocating for Biden to utilize provisions in the Higher Education Act of 1965.
The law, Taylor and others have argued, grants the U.S. Department of Education the authority to "enforce, pay, compromise, waive, or release any right, title, claim, lien, or demand" pertaining to federal student loans.
The law that Biden is drawing on for his debt forgiveness plan is the 2003 Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (HEROES) Act, which requires the existence of an emergency or crisis situation, like the COVID-19 pandemic. The Higher Education Act requires no such conditions.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, an outspoken proponent of student loan forgiveness, has proposed using that same law, at the suggestion of Harvard Law School's Legal Services Center. In 2021, Warren and other Democratic lawmakers introduced a measure that would have urged Biden to invoke the Higher Education Act, but the White House has consistently framed his debt relief plan as a reaction to the pandemic.
Others have pushed back against this alternate path to student debt forgiveness. Jed Shugerman, a law professor at Fordham University, told the Chicago Tribune the Higher Education Act method would be much more time-consuming and easily delayed, potentially stalling relief until after the 2024 election and jeopardizing student debt relief altogether if Biden is not reelected.
The White House has consistently declined to discuss potential alternatives if Biden's plan is struck down by the Supreme Court. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has insisted that the administration believes the plan's legal standing is strong enough to weather any Republican attacks.
"I'm just saying that we're going to focus on the fight that's in front of us right now," she told reporters.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.
