A Sharply divided Supreme Court, presided over by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., On Friday rejected President Joe Biden’s Plan to cancel or reduce over $400 billion federal student loan debts for millions of Americans.
According to AP news report, the court ruled that Biden administration had exceeded its power with its scheme, dashing the hopes of tens of millions of borrowers and imposing new restrictions on presidential power.
It also said that before launching such a pricey initiative, the administration needed Congress’ approval. The majority rejected arguments that a bipartisan 2003 law dealing with national emergencies, known as the HEROES Act, gave Biden the power he claimed.
According to the majority, the HEROES Act does not authorize the loan cancellation plan. “We agree,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court.
However, the president stated that he would work toward a new path for student debt relief, using the Higher Education Act, which he called “the best path that remains to provide as many borrowers as possible with debt relief.”
He also moved to create an “on ramp” that would help ease the risk of default for students who fail to make payments when the current pause ends.
More than 45 million people across the country owe $1.6 trillion in federal loans for college, according to government data, and the proposed debt cancellation, announced by Mr. Biden last summer, would have been one of the most expensive executive actions in U.S. history.