Staff Reports
On Tuesday, Joe Biden’s administration announced that the former vice president's student loan payments would continue to be suspended until June 30, 2023. The courts will then decide if his debt transfer is legal.
In March 2020, then-President Donald Trump asked for a moratorium on student loan payments due to the coronavirus outbreak. The payments have been suspended several times since then.
In August, Biden said that he would give a financial boost to those who are eligible for the federal grants and loans by reducing their student loan debt. He noted that the extension would last for one last time and that he would extend the moratorium on payments until December 31, 2020.
If the case is over or 60 days after the Department of Education is authorized to administer the program, then the payments will resume. If the lawsuit is not resolved by June 30, the payments will stop.
In response, Biden criticized the Republican officials for trying to prevent his debt-relief strategy from happening. He noted that he was still confident that it was legal. However, two federal courts have ruled that his program is unconstitutional. To give the Supreme Court more time to consider the issue, Secretary of Education Sec. Cardona decided to extend the moratorium on his payments until June 30, 2023.
A federal appeals court prevented Biden from carrying out his debt-relief plan. An administrative stay was issued by the Eighth Circuit after a lawsuit was filed by the attorneys general of Missouri and Nebraska. This was a major setback for Biden's plan to reduce his student loan debt.
After a federal judge in Texas ruled that Biden's plan to reduce his student loan debt was illegal, the administration stopped accepting new applications. In an email, Miguel Cardona, Biden's education secretary, referred to the cases as meritless.
Due to the various legal actions that have been filed against the program, the Education Department has been unable to continue accepting new applications for the debt-relief program. However, it has been granted to those who have already submitted their applications, and the government will continue to work with them to settle their debts.
This week, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the emergency motion filed by the Eighth Circuit.
Despite the various legal challenges that have been presented against the program, the Department of Justice still plans on continuing to work with families to provide them with financial relief. Biden noted that it was unfair for the government to force people who are eligible for debt relief to start making payments while the courts are still considering the complaints.
Some people who support the cancellation of student loans were disappointed by Biden's decision to increase the monthly payment schedule.
Braxton Brewington, a spokesperson for the Debt Collective, noted that the government should not be able to collect on the debt that Biden promised to settle.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Wayne Dupree.
