Congressional Democrats are urging President Joe Biden to formulate alternative plans for canceling federal student loans, signaling a growing belief that the Supreme Court will strike down the administration's plan to forgive some $400 billion in loans.
Last year, the president enacted a plan to forgive $10,000 in student loans for all borrowers making less than $125,000 and $20,000 if the borrower received a Pell Grant.
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Since its announcement, the policy has been tied up in legal challenges, ultimately finding its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In February, the nation's highest court heard oral arguments in two cases that argued that the president's effort, which invoked the HEROES Act, which was passed after 9/11 to cancel a wide swath of federally held student loans, was an overreach of executive power.
The court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, is widely expected to rule against the Biden administration and strike the cancellation plan down as an overreach of executive authority. The anticipated ending to the monthslong court battle has several liberal lawmakers urging the White House to look to alternative means to enact student loan cancellation.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) told the Washington Examiner in a statement that if student loan payments, which have been paused since March 2020, resume "without relief," the effect would be "devastating for millions of Americans who have been promised help from the administration.
"Conservatives on the Supreme Court are expected to block President Biden’s relief plan, which would show how out of step they are with the American public," Khanna said. "The administration needs to follow my plan and explore every tool to provide immediate relief."
The court's ruling in the case is expected before the end of June, and Khanna is one of several Democratic lawmakers who have urged the White House to find a backup plan. The Washington Post reported that Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) have also called on the president to find another path to cancel the debt or extend the pause on student loan payments.
Khanna and his compatriots did not specify how the president should seek to enact his loan cancellation plan if the HEROES Act effort is struck down by the court. Activists have suggested the administration could use the Higher Education Act of 1965, which says the secretary of education can "enforce, pay, compromise, waive, or release any right, title, claim, lien, or demand, however acquired, including any equity or any right of redemption."
The Biden administration agreed to restart payments as part of a negotiated deal with House Republicans to increase the debt ceiling and cut spending. Payments are set to resume before the end of August.
“It would be political malpractice to have students repay student loans under Biden when Trump provided the relief. This is not rocket science,” Khanna told the Washington Post. “The White House must figure out how to make sure there is an extension on the moratorium.”
In the meantime, the California lawmaker said the likely demise of the student loan cancellation effort at the hands of the Supreme Court is a reminder that the court is ideologically skewed.
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"Congress should pass my bill to rebalance the Court by enacting term limits," the congressman told the Washington Examiner.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.