Biden's Student Loan Repayment Plan Blocked

Facts

• Federal judges in Kansas and Missouri on Monday issued rulings blocking pieces of 'SAVE' — which is Pres. Joe Biden's student loan repayment plan meant to provide a quicker path to repayment and lower monthly payments — in response to lawsuits filed by two groups of GOP-led states.¹
• US Judge Daniel Crabtree, in a case brought on behalf of 11 states, ruled that part of the program allowing quicker forgiveness for borrowers of less than $12K could continue, but that the Dept. of Education (DOE) can't go ahead with plans for borrowers of larger amounts.²
• In Missouri, US District Judge John Ross ruled, in a suit brought by that state's attorney general on behalf of seven states, that the DOE can't forgive future loan balances, but could lower monthly payments.²
• In the Kansas case, plaintiffs have accused the Biden administration of overstepping its powers, while in Missouri the plaintiffs claim Biden's plan would hurt the revenue of a state agency. Ross also questioned the breadth of the SAVE plan.³
• The parts of the SAVE plan affected by these temporary injunctions are on pause until the cases are fully litigated.⁴
• Biden, who has made student loan forgiveness central to his reelection campaign, announced SAVE, which was scheduled to take effect in 2022. In addition, he announced a $430B program to cancel up to $20K in debt for up to 43M Americans, but that was blocked by SCOTUS last year.⁵

Sources: ¹New York Times, ²Associated Press, ³Washington Post, ⁴CNN and ⁵Reuters.com.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by National Review. It looks like Biden's plan to cynically reimburse young voters prior to the election and bill their billions in student loans to taxpayers is backfiring. Luckily, the courts have been able to step in and reiterate that only Congress has the power to forgive student debt. The only unfortunate part is that the courts have opted not to claw back the hundreds of billions in debts that have already been shifted onto the backs of taxpayers.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by CNBC. Student loan debt is ruining the lives of millions of Americans, yet Republican lawmakers, and the special interests they're beholden to, have opted to block their constituents' path to relief. While continuing to defend the SAVE plan in the courts, the Biden administration will also seek out other means to unburden young Americans. This is only fair given the predatory nature of these loans and the impact on American citizens and the economy.

Predictions