GOP states sue Biden administration over student loan forgiveness
LA TimesSix Republican-led states are suing the Biden administration in an effort to halt its move to forgive student loan debt for tens of millions of Americans, accusing it of overstepping its executive powers. In the lawsuit, filed Thursday in a federal court in Missouri, the Republican states argue that Biden’s cancellation program is “not remotely tailored to address the effects of the pandemic on federal student loan borrowers,” as required by the 2003 federal law that the administration is using as legal justification. ” Biden’s forgiveness program will cancel $10,000 in student loan debt for individuals making less than $125,000 or households making less than $250,000. “These actions must be taken by Congress and he can’t override that.” To justify the plan’s legality, the Biden administration is relying on a post-Sept. 11, 2001, law meant to help members of the military that the Justice Department says allows Biden to reduce or erase student loan debt during a national emergency. Another lawsuit against Biden’s student loan program was filed this week in an Indiana federal court by the Pacific Legal Foundation, a libertarian legal advocacy group that employs a lawyer who says he would be harmed by the forgiveness plan.