Republican Challenges To Student Debt Relief May Delay or Prevent its Implementation

In August, President Biden announced that most federal student loan borrowers would have up to $20,000 of their student debt forgiven if they received a Pell Grant and $10,000 if they did not. Collectively, student loan borrowers in the United States hold $1.75 trillion in debt.

Republicans are mounting legal challenges to Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, putting the program in legal jeopardy by delaying and possibly ending the program before it gets off the ground.

Three legal challenges have been issued by Republican politicians and lawyers. The first lawsuit, filed by attorney Frank Garrison, says that Biden’s plan could cause personal injury by increasing his state tax bill. While student debt forgiveness will not be taxed at a federal level, it may be subject to state taxes in some areas. Garrison is currently attempting to get his student loans erased through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. That program, which predates Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness plan, allows government and non-profit employees to have their student loans forgiven after a decade of service. But if his loan is forgiven through the new plan, it may become taxable income. Garrison says it could add $1,000 to his state tax bill this year.

Meanwhile, six states run by Republican politicians have filed a lawsuit seeking to block Biden’s loan forgiveness plan, arguing that the president does not have the power to forgive debts nationwide without an act from Congress. They also contend that the program could hurt private companies that manage the loans by reducing their business.

The third challenge, filed by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, claims that the Biden plan would harm his ability to recruit employees because they would no longer be incentivized to work for the government through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to have their student loans forgiven.

Most lawsuits require legal standing to proceed through the court system. That means the plaintiff in the lawsuit has to show that they are being personally harmed by the program. According to Laurence Tribe, a Harvard law professor who spoke to CNBC, the lawsuits do not properly establish that standing.

“They keep looking for different ways to establish standing, and that’s all well and good, but in the end, it is the merits that matter, and there is little merit in their challenge,” Tribe said via CNBC.

However, legal expert Mark Kantrowitz, who also spoke to CNBC, says that courts will sometimes allow a case with imperfect standing to proceed if there are larger legal issues, like the president’s ability to forgive debt nationwide. “The president’s student loan forgiveness plan will likely be overturned if it reaches the U.S. Supreme Court,” Kantrowitz told CNBC.

Even if the policy is not shot down by the courts, the legal challenges could significantly delay its implementation, leaving millions of borrowers in legal limbo.

Originally, Biden said borrowers could start applying for forgiveness this month, with many getting that relief within six weeks. However, with the legal challenges mounting, the administration has already said it will not forgive any debt until October 17 at the earliest.

If it is delayed further, it could cause additional problems. Payments, already paused multiple times by both Biden and former President Trump, may have to be paused again. They are currently scheduled to resume in January, but if the loan forgiveness plan is stuck in the courts, Biden may be pressured to pause them again rather than resuming them and force some borrowers who would have their loans forgiven to make payments while they await the outcome of the cases.

Borrowers are advised to keep an eye on the Department of Education website. If the application form comes online, those who apply before a lawsuit gets officially underway may still have their loans forgiven, even if the courts later strike down the program.