THE WRONG PRESCRIPTION FOR A REAL DISEASE

by SANJAY SRIVATSAN STAFF WRITER

In2022, President Biden announced a plan to cancel student debt of up to $20,000 for individuals who make less than $125,000,, costing the public $30 billion annually for the next decade. While any program has its merits and drawbacks, in the case of this program, it does not matter, for one simple reason. President Biden’s debt relief is not legal. And even if it were, it is the wrong prescription for what is indeed a very real problem.

The Biden Student Debt Relief relies upon the HEROES act of 2003 as the legal justification of it. The Higher Education Relief Opportunities For Students (HEROES) Act allows the Secretary of Education to waive student debt for certain categories of individuals in connection wars or national emergencies, including those who have suffered economic hardship due to these occurrences. This act was meant as a remedy to a limited set of circumstances and not as carte blanche for the President, through his education secretary, to offer near blanket amnesty for loans. The wide scope of the program is concerning, given that the program does not attempt to account for the impact of the pandemic in its dispersion of funds. Instead, the only criterion is the recipient’s income and their Pell grant status in college.

Furthermore, the Biden Administration plans to extend the program even after the Federal Covid-19 Emergency expires on May 11, 2023. Until that date, the legal dispute is whether the Biden administration has the authority to offer so wide an amnesty for loans. After that date, another question arises: Ddoes the Secretary of Education still have the right to forgive loans? After all, the HEROES Act of 2003 was concerned with tackling the effects of emergencies, presumably while they were emergencies requiring executive discretion. If the executive no longer deems Covid-19 to be an emergency, then should it continue to exercise an emergency power granted to it?