Statement From President Joe Biden On Supreme Court Decision On Student Loan Debt Relief

President Biden says his work is not over and will address the nation following the Supreme Court’s decision on his student loan debt relief plan.

“My Administration’s student debt relief plan would have been the lifeline tens of millions of hardworking Americans needed as they try to recover from a once-in-a-century pandemic. Nearly 90 percent of the relief from our plan would have gone to borrowers making less than $75,000 a year, and none of it would have gone to people making more than $125,000. It would have been life-changing for millions of Americans and their families. And it would have been good for economic growth, both in the short- and long-term,” Biden wrote in a statement on the White House website.

A sharply divided Supreme Court rejected President Joe Biden’s $400 billion plan to cancel or reduce federal student loan debts for millions of Americans.

The 6-3 decision, with conservative justices in the lead, said the Biden administration overstepped its level of authority when proposing the plan.  Borrowers are set to resume repayments in the fall.

“The hypocrisy of Republican elected officials is stunning. They had no problem with billions in pandemic-related loans to businesses – including hundreds of thousands and in some cases millions of dollars for their own businesses. And those loans were forgiven. But when it came to providing relief to millions of hard-working Americans, they did everything in their power to stop it.”

“While today’s decision is disappointing, we should not lose sight of the progress we’ve made – making historic increases to Pell Grants; forgiving loans for teachers, firefighters, and others in public service; and creating a new debt repayment plan, so no one with an undergraduate loan has to pay more than 5 percent of their discretionary income.”

The court determined that the administration needed Congress’ approval before going forward with the costly program. The majority rejected arguments that a bipartisan 2003 law involving national emergencies, known as the HEROES Act, gave Biden the power he claimed, “I believe that the Court’s decision to strike down our student debt relief plan is wrong.”

“But I will stop at nothing to find other ways to deliver relief to hard-working middle-class families. My Administration will continue to work to bring the promise of higher education to every American.

And later today, I will provide more detail on all that my Administration has done to help students and the next steps my Administration will take.”