The US Supreme Court on Friday rejected President Joe Biden's decision to cancel student loans of millions of Americans by arguing that the administration overstepped its boundaries while doing the same. The 6-3 decision, with conservative justices in the majority, struck down the USD 400 billion plan, announced by Biden last year, which could massively impact borrowers.
According to the top court, the Biden administration needed to take the US Congress's opinion before making such a move. The court also refuted the idea that the HEROES Act gave the President the power to enact such a decision.
“Six States sued, arguing that the HEROES Act does not authorise the loan cancellation plan. We agree,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his opinion for the court. Justice Elena Kagan, who was joined by the court's liberal justices, wrote in a dissent that the majority of the court “overrides the combined judgment of the Legislative and Executive Branches, with the consequence of eliminating loan forgiveness for 43 million Americans.”
For persons making less than USD 125,000 or households making less than USD 250,000, the forgiveness programme would have eliminated USD 10,000 in student loan debt. An additional USD 10,000 in debt would have been forgiven for Pell Grant winners, who often show greater financial need. According to the administration, 26 million people had requested assistance and 43 million would have qualified. Over a 30-year period, the cost was projected to be $400 billion USD.
The decision comes just a day after the US Supreme Court banned the practice of race-based admissions also known as affirmative action in US universities. As per various media reports and experts, the decision is set to impact minority students, especially black Americans the most.
