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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Texas judge strikes down Biden administration's student loan-forgiveness plan
A judge in Texas has vacated President Biden's student loan relief plan, calling it unconstitutional. The ruling will almost certainly be appealed by the U.S. Justice Department.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
President Biden's plan to cancel some or all federal debt for students - for 40 million borrowers, actually - this plan ran into a wall late yesterday. Two disgruntled borrowers filed a lawsuit2 challenging Biden's plan. And a U.S. district court judge in Texas has now declared that the debt relief program is unlawful and vacated it. For more on what happens next, we've got NPR's Cory Turner with us. Hey, Cory.
CORY TURNER, BYLINE3: Hey, Rachel.
MARTIN: So this is sort of a big deal. Before we get to the implications, can you walk us through the basics of this case?
TURNER: Yeah. So as you said, it was brought by two borrowers making a pretty unusual argument. One won't qualify for any relief. The other does qualify for $10,000 but is actually frustrated4 because he believes he should qualify for more. The remedy they're seeking, though, is not cancellation5 of their debts, but to stop the government from cancelling anyone's debts and to essentially6 start all over again and rewrite the rules of the program. So I spoke7 last night with Persis Yu. She's managing counsel of the Student Borrower Protection Center, which has advocated for debt relief. And here's how she describes this case.
PERSIS YU: I like to think about this lawsuit as, like, the toddler problem. If I can't have it, you can't have it either. And that's not how the law works. And it's not how the courts should apply the law.
TURNER: But here's the thing, Rachel. This case is not just about these two borrowers. It is also a big-picture fight over capital-G government and the separation of powers. The conservative legal group behind this suit argues President Biden cannot just wipe away $400 billion in student loan debt. Only Congress can do that. And for him to do it without Congress, they argue, is unlawful, though, of course, the Biden administration says lawmakers did give it the authority to erase8 student debt when they passed a law called the Heroes Act.
MARTIN: OK, so what did this judge say?
TURNER: So Judge Mark T. Pittman, who was appointed by former President Trump9, doesn't buy the administration's reading of the Heroes Act. Instead, he wrote that Biden's debt relief program is a complete usurpation10 of congressional authority by the executive branch. The judge even quoted James Madison in the Federalist Papers, writing, "The accumulation of all powers - legislative11, executive and judiciary - in the same hands may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." What's most interesting about Pittman's ruling, though, is that he condensed a lot of legal process here, including whether to issue, you know, some sort of temporary block on debt relief, and instead he went big and vacated the entire program.
MARTIN: So what does that mean for all the people, all the borrowers who've already started their online documents to get their debt relieved?
TURNER: Well, at the very least, it means they're still waiting. This is a big setback12, Rachel, for those borrowers and for the Biden administration's program. Vacating it doesn't just pause it or block it. It would essentially unwind it. In response, though, we know Biden administration has already appealed the decision. We got confirmation13 of that last night from the White House. Then again, I should also make clear, like, an appeal is going to go to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has a reputation for being the most conservative appeals - federal appeals court in the country. From there, another appeal would land this case at the Supreme14 Court. It's hard to know what the timeline is here for clarity - could be weeks. Keep in mind, though, this is important. Lots of borrowers know this, don't need to be reminded. Student loan payments are also set to restart in a matter of weeks, come January.
MARTIN: I still got to pay mine. NPR's Cory Turner, thank you.
TURNER: You're welcome.
1 transcript | |
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书 | |
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2 lawsuit | |
n.诉讼,控诉 | |
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3 byline | |
n.署名;v.署名 | |
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4 frustrated | |
adj.挫败的,失意的,泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 );挫败;使受挫折;令人沮丧 | |
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5 cancellation | |
n.删除,取消 | |
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6 essentially | |
adv.本质上,实质上,基本上 | |
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7 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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8 erase | |
v.擦掉;消除某事物的痕迹 | |
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9 trump | |
n.王牌,法宝;v.打出王牌,吹喇叭 | |
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10 usurpation | |
n.篡位;霸占 | |
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11 legislative | |
n.立法机构,立法权;adj.立法的,有立法权的 | |
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12 setback | |
n.退步,挫折,挫败 | |
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13 confirmation | |
n.证实,确认,批准 | |
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14 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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