Federal judges block parts of Biden's student loan forgiveness plan



Students decorate their graduation caps during Commencement at the University of Colorado at Folsom Stadium in Boulder, Colo., on, May 9. On Monday, two federal judges separately blocked parts of President Joe Biden's plan to forgive student debt. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo

June 25 (UPI) -- A pair of federal judges blocked parts of President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan less than a week before it was to go fully into effect.

In Missouri, U.S. District Judge John Ross on Monday blocked the Department of Education from further implementation of the the Saving on a Valuable Education plan, which aimed to lower monthly repayments and shorten the repayment period to as little as 10 years, finding the states were likely to succeed on their merits.

Ross ruled that the Biden administration "lacks the authority" to forgive loans as part of the Income-Contingent Repayment plan and that doing so would "likely harm Missouri" by decreasing the administrative fees collected by the state's High Education Loan Authority.

In Kansas, District Judge Daniel Crabtree enjoined the SAVE plan in part nationwide but decided not to undo actions already taken under the program as the states have failed to show that they would be harmed if the status quo was maintained.

The Biden administration has repeatedly sought to cancel billions of dollars in student loans and each time has been met by staunch Republican and conservative opposition.

Last summer, the Supreme Court blocked Biden's plan to offer up to $20,000 in student loan relief to millions of eligible borrowers.

In response, the White House in February announced the plan, which was to fully go into effect Monday and has already canceled some $5.5 billion in student debt held by 414,000 borrowers.

Both Kansas and Missouri followed the announcement with separate lawsuits, accusing the Biden administration of trying to illegally bypass Congress to force taxpayers to pay off the student laws of other Americans.

Kansas, leading an 11-state coalition, filed its lawsuit in late March, followed by Missouri and its seven-state coalition suing the Biden administration in early April.

Earlier this month, a judge ruled eight states of Kansas' coalition do not have standing.

The Republican attorney generals from both Missouri and Kansas issued statements celebrating their separate decisions.

"Blue collar Kansas workers who didn't go to college shouldn't have to pay off the student loans of New Yorkers with gender studies degrees," said Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey similarly accused Biden of attempting to "saddle working Missourians with Ivy League debt" through his plan.

"Only Congress has the power of the purse, not the president," he said. "Today's ruling was a huge win for the rule of law, and for every American who Joe Biden was about to force to pay off someone else's debt."

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement that they are reviewing the rulings while remaining committed to fixing "a broken student loan system" and making "college more affordable for more Americans."

"We remain proud of our work providing debt relief to more than 4.75 million Americans," he said. "We will continue to provide this long-overdue relief, no matter how many times Republican elected officials and their allies try to stop us."

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre criticized the rulings in a statement, sounding a defiant tone in saying that the administration would continue to look for ways to provide student loan relief.

"It's unfortunate that Republican elected officials and their allies have fought tooth and nail to prevent their constituents from accessing lower payments and a faster path to debt forgiveness - and that the courts are now rejecting authority that the [Education] department has applied repeatedly for decades to improve income-driven repayment plans," she said.

"Today's ruling won't stop our administration from using every took available to give students and borrowers the relief they need."