Appeals Court Blocks Remaining Provisions of Biden Student Debt Forgiveness Plan

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JUL 19 2024

Above: US President Joe Biden (L) and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona (R) leave after Biden spoke about student debt relief at the South Court Auditorium at Eisenhower Executive Office Building on October 17, 2022, in Washington, DC. Image copyright: Alex Wong/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Imagesstory last updated JUL 20 2024

The Facts

The US 8th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a motion by Republican-led states to block the remaining pieces of the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness plan.
A district judge last month stopped short of blocking the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan entirely. This motion, brought forth by a group of Republican attorneys general, would block the rest.
While the previous ruling allowed the lowering of monthly payments for borrowers to come into effect, this week's argued that scrapping payments for those under a certain income and forgiving loans after 10-25 years of payments in certain instances is unlawful.

The Spin

Republican narrative

The student debt relief plan is a bad policy that was rammed through without any due process. Indeed, It was so bad that two judges appointed by Obama had to put a stop to it for its unconstitutional nature. Loan forgiveness is a handout to the upper classes and punishes those who were diligent and paid their loans off in time. Hopefully, the courts will finally stick a fork in this unconstitutional plan soon.

Washington Examiner

Democratic narrative

These GOP-led states have been relying on bad logic to try and trash the SAVE Plan, as analysis has shown that states won't lose revenue in the aggregate specifically because of the plan. These states haven't let a lack of injury stop them from using the courts to make it harder for millions of hardworking Americans to discharge burdensome debt that is keeping them from financial security.

New York Times