Why Would You Vote for Republicans? GOP-led states sue to block Biden’s student loan repayment plan

March 29, 2024

Some in the state’s legislature took PPP loans during the pandemic that they will never pay back. Biden’s plan involves repayment.

The coalition of states, led by Kansas, also includes Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.

Axios

Eleven Republican-led states are suing the Biden administration over its latest efforts to provide student debt relief for millions of borrowers.

Why it matters: The administration introduced the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked President Biden’s signature student loan forgiveness program last June in a majority ruling that said the plan exceeded the federal government’s authority.

Driving the news: “Last time Defendants tried this the Supreme Court said that this action was illegal,” states the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.

• “Nothing since then has changed, other than introducing more legal errors into this Rule’s underlying analysis.”

The big picture: The Biden administration has pledged to lower student debt burdens and give borrowers breathing room with student loan repayment programs such as the income-driven SAVE plan.

• However, some Republicans have characterized Biden’s effort as a “bailout for the wealthy.”
• The Kansas-led lawsuit is seeking to have the SAVE plan immediately halted. The attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas and Utah joined the suit.

What they’re saying: Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R) said in a Facebook post: “Aside from the fact that Biden’s loan forgiveness plan is unlawful for multiple reasons, it’s also wrong.”

The other side: “The Biden-Harris Administration won’t stop fighting to provide support and relief to borrowers across the country — no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us,” an Education Department spokesperson said in a statement to media.

AP

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A group of Republican-led states is suing the Biden administration to block a new student loan repayment plan that provides a faster path to cancellation and lower monthly payments for millions of borrowers.

In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday, 11 states led by Kansas argue that Biden overstepped his authority in creating the SAVE Plan, which was made available to borrowers last year and has already canceled loans for more than 150,000.

It argues that the new plan is no different from Biden’s first attempt at student loan cancellation, which the Supreme Court rejected last year. “Last time Defendants tried this the Supreme Court said that this action was illegal. Nothing since then has changed,” according to the lawsuit.

The Education Department declined to comment on the lawsuit but noted that Congress in 1993 gave the department the authority to define the terms of income-driven repayment plans.

“The Biden-Harris Administration won’t stop fighting to provide support and relief to borrowers across the country — no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us,” the department said in a statement.

Forbes

A coalition of southern and western Republican-led states filed a new lawsuit this week, seeking to block one of President Joe Biden’s signature student loan forgiveness initiatives.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is. A similar coalition of states sued the Biden administration last year to block the President’s initial student loan forgiveness plan, which would have wiped out up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for millions of borrowers. That legal challenge made its way up to the Supreme Court; the conservative majority then struck down the plan as executive overreach last summer, before any borrowers could receive relief.

“Biden is trying to twist federal law once again, and his new plan is just as illegal as the old plan,” said Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, who is spearheading the suit, in comments to Fox News.

The states are suing to overturn President Biden’s SAVE plan. This new income-driven plan can provide affordable monthly payments to borrowers based on their income and family size, with student loan forgiveness of any remaining balance after 20 or 25 years in repayment.

The coalition of states led by Kansas — which also includes Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas and Utah (all with Republican administrations) — takes particular issue with a feature of SAVE that allows borrowers who took out relatively small loan amounts to qualify for student loan forgiveness in as little as 10 years. Last month, the Biden administration approved over 150,000 borrowers for relief under this “early” student loan forgiveness feature.

However, the lawsuit is targeting the entire SAVE program, which could jeopardize lower monthly payments for many borrowers. More than 7 million student loan borrowers have already enrolled in SAVE, according to the Education Department.