After the Supreme Court blocked his $430 billion student loan forgiveness program on Friday, President Biden said he'll take a different path to provide relief for millions of Americans saddled with college debt. His plan will be "legally sound," the president said in televised remarks, CBS News reports. Immediately after the ruling was issued, Biden had released a statement saying, "This fight is not over." The next strategy will employ the Higher Education Act, which Biden said will allow the administration to "compromise, weigh, or release loans under certain circumstances."
"It's going to take longer," Biden said. The overturned plan relied on emergency enactment under the HEROES Act. Using the 1965 education law will instead require the Biden administration to stick to the regulatory rule-making process, without shortcuts. The steps include posting the plan, providing time for public comment and consideration of that input, and many meetings, per CNN. In the meantime, the Department of Education won't report borrowers with missed payments to credit agencies for one year, Biden said. He labeled that step a temporary, "on-ramp repayment program."
Biden blamed Republicans for fighting the program, as well as the court, saying it "misinterpreted the Constitution." Had the 16 million people approved so far received the intended $10,000 to $20,000 in relief, Biden said, per the Guardian, "More homes would've been bought, more businesses would've been started." Student loan relief was a 2020 campaign promise. Asked by a reporter whether he'd given borrowers false hope that help was on the way, Biden said that would be the GOP's fault, per the Hill. "I didn't give borrowers false hope," the president said. "But Republicans snatched away the hope they were given, and it's real. Real hope." (More President Biden stories.)
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