The Democrats only follow the law when it doesn’t harm their agenda. They don’t think anyone will hold them accountable.
And now Biden is under fire after ignoring this direct order from the Supreme Court.
On Friday, the Biden administration announced that it would cancel the loans of another 74,000 student loan debtors, bringing the total number of debt cancellations to almost 3.7 million Americans.
The Biden administration has been disregarding the Supreme Court, which rejected Biden’s student loan relief scheme in June because it had not been approved by Congress.
The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling was the result of six conservative justices voting to overturn the scheme, while three Leftist justices oppossed it.
The Biden administration cited the 2003 Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act (HEROES Act) to support its argument in favor of student loans, claiming that the loans were permitted in the event of a “national emergency,” but Chief Justice John Roberts stated that the 2003 act was “clearly before a department secretary can unilaterally alter large sections of the American economy.”
In announcing the new student loan recipients, President Biden claimed his administration was acting legally, “My Administration is able to deliver relief to these borrowers – and millions more – because of fixes we made to broken student loan programs that were preventing borrowers from getting relief they were entitled to under the law.”
Today’s statement builds on the progress we’ve made for students and student loan borrowers in recent years.
“And, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision on our student debt relief plan, we are continuing to pursue an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible,” he said.
“From Day One of my Administration, I vowed to improve the student loan system so that a higher education provides Americans with opportunity and prosperity – not unmanageable burdens of student loan debt. I won’t back down from using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams.”
The 2003 Heroes Act, enacted after the United States went to war following the 9/11 attacks, stated that the Secretary of Education could “waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student financial assistance programs under title IV of the [Education Act] as the Secretary deems necessary in connection with a war, other military operation, or national emergency.”
The Secretary would be able to make such modifications or waivers “as may be necessary to ensure” the “recipients of student financial assistance under title IV of the [Education Act affected by a national emergency] are not placed in a worse position financially in relation to that financial assistance because of [the national emergency].”
The majority opinion of the Court asserted
The text of the HEROES Act does not authorize the Secretary’s loan forgiveness program.
The Secretary’s power under the Act to ‘modify’ does not permit ‘basic and fundamental changes in the scheme’ designed by Congress. MCI Telecommunications Corp. v. American Telephone & Telegraph Co., 512 U.S. 218–225.
Instead, ‘modify’ carries ‘a connotation of increment or limitation,’ and must be read to mean ‘to change moderately or in minor fashion.’ That is how the word is ordinarily used and defined, and the legal definition is no different.
But this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
With Biden’s poll numbers flagging and discontent with his leadership at all time highs, he needs to make something happen.
And forcing, essentially, a pay off to potential voters is the easiest way to ensure he can buy votes.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
