Some conservatives have taken the policy of President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness to court.
A federal judge will hear oral arguments next week for a lawsuit led by Republican states. The judge said there would be no debt forgiveness before October 17 despite a promised application coming out this month.
Up to $20,000 in debt relief was announced by Biden at the end of the month. The relief was something he promised on the campaign trail and was a policy Democrats had been pushing him to act on. The policy of loan forgiveness was hailed as a significant first step towards addressing the student debt crisis by some Democrats.
Many Republicans did not feel that way. In the months leading up to Biden's announcement, they slammed the broad debt relief as unfair, costly, and illegal and threatened legal action should the policy be implemented. The leading Republican on the House education committee supports their efforts.
The Biden administration's student loan rescue should be stopped by the law because of its illegality. If the scheme isn't stopped, millions of taxpayers will have to shoulder the financial burden.
The Education Secretary has the authority to modify or waive student-loan balances if there is a national emergency according to the White House. The policy is an overreach of authority, hurts states' revenues, and unconstitutionally advances racial equity, according to the groups pursuing legal action.
A White House administration official told Insider that they are charging full speed ahead in getting relief to the borrowers who need it the most.
The team at the Department of Education is working with the White House team to get the program up and running. The sign up period for debt relief will start this month. It'll be easy to use. We are starting to communicate with borrowers on what to expect. More will be shared in the coming days.
An administration official said during a Wednesday press call that the lawsuits should not affect the release date of the application for student loan forgiveness.
The Pacific Legal Foundation is a non profit organization. The first major lawsuit against Biden's debt relief was filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation. Frank Garrison, a public interest attorney who is eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, argued that automatic debt relief would cause him to have a tax bill.
The White House said that student-loan borrowers have the right to opt out of debt relief if they don't like it. No one will be forced to get debt relief. The White House assistant press secretary said in a statement that anyone who doesn't want debt relief can opt out. The group wants to challenge the loan forgiveness.
Six Republican states. Six Republican-led states filed a lawsuit against Biden. The lawsuit was filed by Arkansas, South Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri, which argued that the debt cancellation policy would hurt the state's revenues.
They argued that the plan would hurt the company which is based in Missouri. The case referred to the Federal Family Education Loan program, a privately held loan guaranteed by the government that would not qualify for debt relief without consolidation into the direct-loan program.
The White House updated its guidance on eligibility for student-debt relief in response to the lawsuit. No student debt will be canceled before October 17 if the states are granted a pause on the debt-relief plan.
Arizona's attorney general filed a lawsuit against Biden's student loan forgiveness, arguing that it would hurt the state by making it harder to recruit lawyers. He said that people were "prematurely" celebrating the debt relief and that he would be pursuing legal action. Confirmation of the legal action will be sent to the Biden administration.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed a lawsuit against Biden's debt relief plan.
The group's argument was struck down by a federal judge on Thursday. Should the authority to cancel student debt not exist, a future administration could remember the forgiven debts, he said.