US President Joe Biden does not possess the legal authority to completely abolish federal student loans as debt cancellation is not a presidential executive power.
Both the Higher Education Act and the Federal Claims Collection Act, which provide tight restrictions on debt modification and waiver, are being broken by his executive order. His plan to forgive student loans is purely motivated by the midterm elections. Without congressional approval, the cancellation of all debt is prohibited—not that unscrupulous Joe would care.
OPINION: Biden's student loan handout plan is a lawless power grab designed to buy votes https://t.co/Zdb7F0zGkZ
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 26, 2022
Biden’s Justice Department contends that he can “forgive” liabilities under the Heroes Act of 2003 in an effort to get around such regulations.
It appears that the DOJ did not read that provision. War, military operations, and a state of emergency are all covered. Such urgent circumstances don’t exist right now. Even if they did, the president’s power to take unilateral action is restricted to delaying payments or waiving interest on loans, not completely eliminating them.
Biden is aware that his actions are unconstitutional. He had earlier made a public acknowledgment that he lacked the necessary executive authority.
The same thing was expressed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a year ago. By continuing to do it despite the law, Biden is breaking both.
Pelosi was reasonable when she said that only a congressional act could end debt. This is the situation because, according to our constitutional system, the legislature controls the use of public funds.
The only body having the power to tax and spend is Congress (as stated in Article I, Sections 7 and 9). This involved taking on or getting rid of debts, which included the federal government absorbing costs. Money that has not been appropriated by Congress cannot be used by the president.
Those who are upset with Biden are the huge numbers of responsible borrowers who faithfully repaid their loans, those who decided against attending college because they didn’t want the debt, and the taxpayers who will have to foot the bill.
Even if you cancel your student loans today, they will swiftly rise to their previous rates (and beyond) in a few years. The bigger issue of too much government spending on education is not being addressed by Biden. He is merely spending more tax dollars on it. It’s a crazy, never-ending circle.
It could be remembered that he significantly overstepped his bounds with the COVID regulations, the eviction moratoriums, the race-based agricultural program, and the deportation moratorium. Federal courts overturned all of them and deemed Biden’s actions unlawful.
Congress lacks the necessary number of votes to pass debt eradication. Biden is exceeding his authority and destroying the separation of powers, which is a pillar of our Constitution.
Biden’s power-grab will be confronted with the inevitable court action. It’s expected that the issue will be brought before the US Supreme Court. In terms of betting, I wouldn’t do Biden. He has become the modern president with the most Supreme Court disapproval.
