Judge Clarence Thomas Has A Thing Or Two To Say About Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness Program

The Post Millennial reports that they took up two cases related to this issue.

The Justices first took up the case of Biden v Nebraska, in which six Republican Attorney Generals sued the Administration and argued that the program was government overreach.

US Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar spoke up for the Biden Administration and stated that if the pause on payments that have been in place since the early days of the COVID lockdowns is suspended, then “it’s undisputed that defaults and delinquencies will surge above pre-pandemic levels.”.

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She continued by saying: “The states asked this court to deny that vital relief to millions of Americans, but they lacked standing to seek that result,” She continued, “the states say the Act doesn’t authorize the Secretary to ever forgive loan principal. But the Secretary’s interpretation of this text is not just a plausible reading; it’s the best reading. Congress expressly authorized the Secretary to waive or modify any title for provision in emergencies to provide financial relief to borrowers.”

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Justice Clarence Thomas asked how a waiver of student loans could cause a cancelation of those loans. Prelogar responded that the HEROES Act put in place actions that the Education Secretary could take during a national emergency. This Act was passed after 9/11 and was meant to respond to that national emergency. Now, it seems that the Biden Administration wants to use the fact that some people are not paying their student loans as an excuse to say there is a national emergency they must address.

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March 03, 2023

The HEROES Act states explicitly that the Education Secretary has the power to “waive or modify” the structure of student loans. However, the law does not specifically state that student loans can be canceled. The specifics of the HEROES Act are meant to allow the Education Secretary to waive or modify those loans to ensure other individuals “are not placed in a worse position financially” because of “a war or other military operation or national emergency.”

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She then argued that the law is written in a way that “‘modify’ has to mean making a change up to the point of wholesale elimination.” She continued, saying, “It would be really strange for Congress to say you can eliminate obligations altogether or tweak them just the littlest bit. But you can’t do anything in between,”

Regardless, it appears that at least some of the Justices on the court are skeptical of this wholesale elimination of student loans for many.