U.S. News
Judges dismiss two lawsuits against Biden’s student loan relief program
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program dodged two legal challenges after they were dismissed by the court.
- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett denied the Wisconsin-based Brown County Taxpayers Association’s emergency request to block the program.
- U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey also dismissed a lawsuit filed by six states, noting that it lacked the necessary legal standing.
Two lawsuits against President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program have been dismissed for lack of legal standing.
On Thursday, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett denied the Wisconsin-based Brown County Taxpayers Association’s emergency request to put the debt relief program on hold.
About an hour later, a federal judge in St. Louis, Missouri, dismissed another similar lawsuit filed by Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Carolina. The states argued that the president’s program bypassed Congress and threatened the states’ economies.
U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey acknowledged the lawsuit‘s “important and significant challenges to the debt relief plan,” but explained that it still lacked the necessary legal standing.
Biden announced the debt relief program in August. Under this program, individuals earning less than $125,000 in 2020 or 2021, or couples earning less than $250,000, will be eligible for up to $10,000 in loan forgiveness. Pell Grant recipients will have an additional $10,000 in relief.
Democrats celebrated the move, which Biden had promised during his presidential campaign, as a boon for the midterms.
However, the program received several legal challenges, especially after the Congressional Budget Office calculated that the program could cost the government about $400 billion.
The program was made under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act, which grants Biden the authority to modify or waive federal student loans during war or national emergencies. Biden asserted that the pandemic was such an emergency.
The Wisconsin group filed its lawsuit on Oct. 4, arguing that the program “obligates federal taxes and erases federal assets (in the form of debt) without any authority whatsoever.”
Lower courts dismissed the lawsuit since it could not prove that the loan relief personally caused it harm. U.S. District Judge William Griesbach in Green Bay noted that being a taxpayer is not enough to challenge federal actions. The lawsuit was also dismissed by the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, pending further appeal.
When the group filed an emergency request to the Supreme Court, it fell to Barrett, who is designated to act on emergency matters from a group of states including Wisconsin.
Republican state attorneys general vowed to appeal Autrey’s decision. Attorney General Doug Peterson of Nebraska said that the states believe “they do in fact have standing” to pursue their case.
After the six states sued on Sept. 20, the Department of Education modified the program to exclude borrowers with privately held loans guaranteed by the federal government. The change was seen as an effort to avoid lawsuits from states that profit from such loans.
Autrey cited that change in his 19-page ruling. He said that claims of the state’s tax revenues being harmed were “tenuous” and “speculative.”
Source: Reuters
John W.
October 24, 2022 at 7:39 am
The appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court shows that basing appointments on gender and skin color is a big fat mistake. The same goes all other appontments and hiring. Just look at the Dept of Defense. Austin is a total racist and is destroying our military and our national security.
Rosie46
October 24, 2022 at 10:23 am
Taxpayers should then not be required to pay for another’s debt unless they get a tax credit to directly reduce their taxes. Or have the govt pay $10,000 of past college costs or $10,000 if one’s mortgage.
John Brewster
October 24, 2022 at 11:47 am
As an attorney for 47 years, I am disturbed by the frequent dismissal of Federal cases for lack of standing. It seems there may be a black hole on certain issues where no one has standing to challenge controversial issues the courts wish not to rule on. Why doesn’t anyone ask, “If six attorneys general do not have standing, who does?”
Monte
October 24, 2022 at 1:31 pm
As far as I am concerned we should liquidate all the biden assets and send them all to China with nothing but the clothes on their murderous treasonous backs!!
BSquared
October 24, 2022 at 4:45 pm
Monte This is by far the best idea any one has given. Thank you for posting your comment. BSquared.
liz Courey
October 24, 2022 at 5:45 pm
Jill’s pushing him and answering questions for him. He’s creepy but feeble! I believe she’s the one making the decisions. Beware people…it may be her in 2024.
Sean Richman
October 24, 2022 at 6:33 pm
Of coarse,another liberal judge that does not realize what this will do to the already suffering of AMERICAN taxpayers.Joey”mummbles”spends and spends and spends taxpayer dollars to buy votes and nobody has the intestinal fortitude to stop him and his band of”loonies”.
tj
October 25, 2022 at 10:21 am
I guess I missed the part where when signs a contract and other than filing for bankruptcy can be excused payment or liability for? Taxpaying people should not be held responsible for these voluntarily bound college students who choose to subsidize their education through a student loan
Sean Rickmanl
October 25, 2022 at 8:47 pm
Joey”mummbles”is buying votes and maybe even judges.Someone with some authority needs to step up and call these criminals out and expose these anti AMERICAN for what they really are.But then we only have about five or six Republicans that aren’t afraid to challenge the marxists.
Confused
October 26, 2022 at 10:17 am
I don’t get it. The federal government is willing to relieve some debt of those making up to $125k for single, up to $250k for those filing jointly, yet for the millions with greater debt who don’t make nearly that much, they get to continue to struggle to put food on their table, clothes on their back, and a roof over their head? What am I not understanding about what’s going on in this country???