US Supreme Court Considers Student Loan Debt Forgiveness Program

The United States Supreme¹ Court began hearing arguments on Tuesday about President Joe Biden's student debt relief plan. The court's decision will affect millions of borrowers who could see their loans reduced or forgiven.

How does the plan work?

The Biden administration announced the debt forgiveness plan in August of last year. It would cancel $10,000 in federal student loan debt for individuals making less than $125,000 per year or for households making less than $250,000 per year. People who received a Pell Grant, a kind of special financing given to those who show higher financial need, would get an additional $10,000 of debt forgiven.

College students can be a part of the plan if their loans were sent out, or distributed, before July 1 of last year. The plan would permit 43 million borrowers to get some debt forgiveness. About 20 million people could see their debt disappear completely, the Biden administration says.

The White House says 26 million people have applied² for debt relief. Around 16 million people had already had their relief approved before courts suspended the program. The Congressional Budget Office has said the program will cost around $400 billion over the next thirty years.

Why the Supreme Court?

The Supreme Court is hearing two arguments against the plan. One involves six states, all led by members of the Republican Party. The other involves a legal action brought by two students.

A lower court dismissed the lawsuit³ involving the states, which are Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina. The court said the states could not legally protest the program because they were not harmed by it.

The states appealed the decision and the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled to suspend operation of the program. Then, the Supreme Court agreed to consider the case.

The students' case involves Myra Brown, who is not able to receive debt relief because her loans are privately⁴ held. It also involves Alexander Taylor, who is only able to get $10,000 and not the full $20,000 because he did not receive a Pell grant. The students say that the Biden administration did not go through the correct process in putting the plan into action.

Texas-based U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, an appointee of President Donald Trump⁵, agreed with the students and ruled to block the program. Pittman ruled that the Biden administration did not have clear permission from Congress to begin the program. A federal appeals court left Pittman's ruling in place, and the Supreme Court agreed to take up the case along with the states' challenge.

Legal basis of plan

To cancel student loan debt, the Biden administration is using the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act, commonly known as the HEROES Act. Put in place after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the law was designed to protect service members from financial loss while they fought in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The law permits the secretary of education to waive⁶ or change the terms of federal student loans as necessary in connection with a national emergency.

Trump, a Republican, declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency in March 2020. But Biden recently announced that the national emergency will end on May 11. The Biden administration has said that the end to the national emergency does not change the legal argument for student loan debt cancellation⁷ because the pandemic affected⁸ millions of student borrowers who might have fallen behind on their loans during the emergency.

Likely questions

The Supreme Court will likely pay careful attention to several big issues.

The first one is whether the states and the two student borrowers have the right to sue over the plan in the first place, a legal idea called "standing⁹."

If the court finds that there is no standing, then the Biden administration will be clear to go ahead with the plan. To prove they have standing, the states and borrowers will have to show in part that they are financially harmed by the plan.

Beyond the question of standing, the justices will also be asking whether the HEROES Act gives the Biden administration the power to put the plan into action and how it went about doing so.

Words in This Story

relief – n. things (such as food, money, or medicine) that are given to help people who are victims of a war, earthquake, flood, etc.; the removal or reducing of something that is painful or unpleasant

apply – v. to ask formally for something (such as a job, admission to a school, a loan, etc.) usually in writing

challenge – n. the act of saying or showing that (something) may not be true, correct, or legal

waive – v. to officially say that you will not use or require something that you are allowed to have or that is usually required

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

3 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

4 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 waive   

vt.放弃，不坚持(规定、要求、权力等)

参考例句：

• I'll record to our habitat office waive our claim immediately.我立即写信给咱们的总公司提出放弃索赔。
• In view of the unusual circumstances,they agree to waive their requirement.鉴于特殊情况，他们同意放弃他们的要求。

7 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

8 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

9 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。