A group of seven GOP-led states, including Missouri, Alabama, and Georgia, have filed a lawsuit to block the Biden administration’s latest effort to provide student loan forgiveness. Led by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, the lawsuit accuses Education Secretary Miguel Cardona of attempting to unlawfully provide $73 million in student debt relief, with potentially hundreds of billions more to follow. This legal action marks the third time the Secretary has tried to mass cancel student loans, with previous attempts halted by the courts. The Republican attorneys general allege that Cardona is now trying to implement this debt relief plan through secretive means.
The proposed plan, announced by the U.S. Department of Education in April and set to be finalized in the fall, would make millions of student borrowers eligible for either partial or full debt relief. This relief would be available to various groups of borrowers, including those who owe more than when they started repaying, those in repayment for over 20 years, and borrowers from institutions with little financial value. The GOP attorneys general are particularly concerned about the lack of transparency in the process, as borrowers were only given until August 30 to opt out of the relief. The lawsuit comes after a recent Supreme Court ruling put the Saving on a Valuable Education plan on hold.
The Supreme Court had previously declared President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan unconstitutional, which has led the attorneys general to question the legality of the current proposed rules. They argue that Education Secretary Cardona has been implementing this plan without proper publication since May, ordering third-party loan servicing organizations to cancel billions of dollars in debt. Despite this, no relief can actually be provided to borrowers until the rules are officially finalized. The GOP attorneys general are confident in their efforts to block the proposed rules from taking effect, with Attorney General Bailey stating that they are meeting the administration’s actions head-on.
Although the Department of Education has not commented on the lawsuit, it is clear that the Biden administration has already approved significant amounts of student loan relief for millions of borrowers through various actions. With over $168 billion in relief allocated to 4.8 million borrowers so far, the administration’s efforts to address the student loan debt crisis are ongoing. However, the legal challenges from Republican-led states like Missouri, Alabama, and Georgia demonstrate the ongoing controversy surrounding the issue of student loan forgiveness and the differing perspectives on how best to address the massive debt burden faced by many Americans.
Overall, the lawsuit filed by the seven GOP-led states represents a significant challenge to the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness efforts. With concerns about the legality and transparency of the proposed debt relief plan, Republican attorneys general are pushing back against what they see as an unlawful attempt to cancel billions of dollars in student loans. As legal battles continue in the lower courts and the Supreme Court weighs in on such matters, the future of student loan forgiveness remains uncertain. However, with millions of borrowers still struggling under the weight of their student debt, the need for a comprehensive and equitable solution to this crisis remains as urgent as ever.
