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Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) want President Joe Biden to forgive $50,000 in federal student loans per borrower. They claim that he can do this unilaterally through executive order.
President Biden has promised to forgive $10,000 in student loan debt per borrower, but wants Congress to pass legislation to implement it. The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan proposed by President Biden does not include any student loan forgiveness.
Legislation to forgive student loans is unlikely to occur before the end of the summer, since payments on federal student loans are paused until December 31, 2022.
Executive action can be used only when it has been specifically authorized by Congress.
The executive branch cannot spend money that has not been appropriated by Congress, per 31 USC 1301 et seq (Antideficiency Act (P.L. 97-258)) and Article I, Section 7, Clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution.
The claims that the President has the authority to forgive student loans are based on a misreading of the Higher Education Act of 1965 at 20 USC 1082(a)(6). That section of the Higher Education Act of 1965 provides the U.S. Secretary of Education with the authority to:
“...modify, compromise, waive, or release any right, title, claim, lien, or demand, however acquired, including any equity or any right of redemption.”
But that quote is taken out of context. The preamble to that section of the Higher Education Act of 1965 limits this authority to operating within the scope of the statute:
“In the performance of, and with respect to, the functions, powers, and duties, vested in him by this part, the Secretary may—"
In other words, when Congress authorizes a loan forgiveness program, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Teacher Loan Forgiveness or the Total and Permanent Disability Discharge, the U.S. Secretary of Education has the authority to forgive student loans as authorized under the terms of these loan forgiveness programs.
Without authorization by Congress of a specific loan forgiveness program, the President does not have the authority to forgive student loan debt. As the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Whitman v. American Trucking Assns., Inc., (531 USC 457, 2001), Congress does not “hide elephants in mouseholes.”
thecollegeinvestor.com
Is Student Loan Forgiveness By Executive Order Legal?
Updated: August 24, 2022 By Mark KantrowitzSenators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) want President Joe Biden to forgive $50,000 in federal student loans per borrower. They claim that he can do this unilaterally through executive order.
President Biden has promised to forgive $10,000 in student loan debt per borrower, but wants Congress to pass legislation to implement it. The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan proposed by President Biden does not include any student loan forgiveness.
Legislation to forgive student loans is unlikely to occur before the end of the summer, since payments on federal student loans are paused until December 31, 2022.
Can The President Cancel All Federal Student Loans?
The President does not have the legal authority to forgive student loans on his own. Only Congress has the power of the purse.Executive action can be used only when it has been specifically authorized by Congress.
The executive branch cannot spend money that has not been appropriated by Congress, per 31 USC 1301 et seq (Antideficiency Act (P.L. 97-258)) and Article I, Section 7, Clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution.
The claims that the President has the authority to forgive student loans are based on a misreading of the Higher Education Act of 1965 at 20 USC 1082(a)(6). That section of the Higher Education Act of 1965 provides the U.S. Secretary of Education with the authority to:
“...modify, compromise, waive, or release any right, title, claim, lien, or demand, however acquired, including any equity or any right of redemption.”
But that quote is taken out of context. The preamble to that section of the Higher Education Act of 1965 limits this authority to operating within the scope of the statute:
“In the performance of, and with respect to, the functions, powers, and duties, vested in him by this part, the Secretary may—"
In other words, when Congress authorizes a loan forgiveness program, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Teacher Loan Forgiveness or the Total and Permanent Disability Discharge, the U.S. Secretary of Education has the authority to forgive student loans as authorized under the terms of these loan forgiveness programs.
Without authorization by Congress of a specific loan forgiveness program, the President does not have the authority to forgive student loan debt. As the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Whitman v. American Trucking Assns., Inc., (531 USC 457, 2001), Congress does not “hide elephants in mouseholes.”
Is Student Loan Forgiveness By Executive Order Legal?
Some politicians are asking President Biden to sidestep Congress and provide student loan forgiveness by executive order. But is that legal?
thecollegeinvestor.com
