The United States Supreme Court considered that the Biden government had no legal basis to approve the measures. Biden has vowed to move forward with a new student loan relief plan.
The Supreme Court of the United States rejected this Friday the plan of the Government of Joe Biden to cancel the student debts of millions of university students. In a decision of the conservative majority of the court, and challenged by the three progressive judges, the Supreme Court considered that the Biden government had no legal basis to approve such measures. US President promises to launch new measures.
The plan had been proposed by the Democratic head of state to alleviate financial hardship for young college studentssparked by the Covid-19 pandemic, but was challenged by the attorneys general of several Republican-ruled states.
“This new path will take longer, but, in my opinion, it is the best path left,” declared the President at a press conference at the White House together with the Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona.
A new payment plan based on income will also be launched, which will reduce the amount each person has to pay each month and save most debtors around $1,000 (€915 at current exchange rates) per year.
In a decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts, a majority of the justices sided with the state of Missouri, which argued that the debt cancellation measure would hurt the revenue of a state agency that administers student loans.
In this sense, explained Roberts, US law allows the Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, “make modest adjustments and additions to existing standards (…), not transform them”. These modifications, according to Roberts, created “a fundamentally different new model for debt relief.”
In a dissenting opinion written by Justice Elena Kagan and endorsed by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, these progressive justices argue that “in all respects, the court this Friday exceeds its proper and limited role in the government of the nation”.
At the end of August of last year, Biden announced that he would forgive part of the debt that millions of university students contracted with the federal government to pay for their studies. The opposition argued that the plan would cost the public treasury $400 billion. (366,400 million euros) over the next 30 years.
Also this Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that a Christian graphic artist who wants to create marriage websites can refuse to serve same-sex couples.
The conservative majority court ruled – by six votes to three – in favor of designer Lorie Smith, outside of a Colorado state law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender and other characteristics. Smith argued that the law violates her free speech rights.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court ended affirmative action programs at universities, rejecting the possibility of compensation quotas for some minorities. A majority of six conservative justices (some appointed by former President Donald Trump) found unconstitutional, contrary to the opinion of the three progressive justices, admissions procedures to universities based on the color of the skin or the ethnic origin of The candidates.
Several US Republican leaders and conservative organizations, led by Trump, hailed the Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action programs at universities.
Source: Observadora
