President Joe Biden’s administration officially asked the Supreme Court to reinstate the student loan forgiveness program on Friday.
The Washington Post reported that the administration said the program should be reinstated because “its creation was well within the authority of the education secretary and that a lower court decision putting it on hold, ‘leaves millions of economically vulnerable borrowers in limbo.’”
The Department of Education has no longer included the debt relief application on its website, according to Axios.
What happened to the plan?
The Deseret News reported that the student loan forgiveness program had been put on hold when an appellate court looked into a lawsuit against the plan.
A new block was then put on the Biden administration’s plan, after the original lawsuit was formed, when a Texas federal judge ruled the program was unlawful. These two lawsuits set back the student loan forgiveness program after 40 million eligible, student loan borrowers have already signed up for the plan according to The Washington Post.
Esquire reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals was asked by Department of Justice attorneys if a decision could be made by Dec. 1 in order, “to allow the government to seek relief from the Supreme Court.”
What happens now?
The Associated Press reported that those who have already applied for aid will be put on hold until a decision has been made while, the application has been taken down.
“Courts have issued orders blocking our student debt relief program,” the Department of Education said on its website. “As a result, at this time, we are not accepting applications. We are seeking to overturn those orders.”
The Washington Post reported that the Supreme Court was warned by U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar that if it does not ease the 8th Circuit’s injunction, it may, “set the case for expedited briefing and argument this term to avoid prolonging this uncertainty for the millions of affected borrowers.”
If the plan does go into effect, $20,000 in student debt for Pell Grant receivers would be canceled along with canceling up to $10,000 for those who make less than $125,000 a year, according to Axios.