Student debt relief overruled

Court rules Biden’s proposal unconstitutional, unauthorized

By Jack Lee @JackTheBatt

On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to strike down President Joe Biden’s federal loan forgiveness program, putting about 20 million people back on the hook for repaying up to $20,000 in student loans.

On August 23, 2022, Assistant Attorney General for the O ce of Legal Counsel Christopher Schroeder opined that loan cancellation via executive order was legally possible under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities For Students Act, which authorizes the federal government to grant educational nancial relief in response to “war or other military operation or national emergency.” Biden’s administration later issued up to $20,000 of debt relief under the justi cation of economic relief for the COVID-19 pandemic.

On September 29, 2022, the states of Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina brought legal action in a federal court against Biden, claiming that the loan cancellation program was unconstitutional, overstepping the executive branch’s power. While initially dismissed, the case was appealed and eventually argued before the Supreme Court.

Multiple A&M students voiced their opinions at the following meetings, along with the A&M Student Senate passing legislation to advocate for the reinstatement of the MSC, stating that removing the central building on campus interfered with students’ access to voting. Former Precinct 2 Commissioner Russ Ford was the only dissenting vote against the location change, being outspoken about how other members didn’t understand the importance of the MSC and ensuring student voters were not disen-

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Although many students on campus drive, not all commissioners accounted for the distance from campus for students who lack such resources. The city hall is no less than 30 minutes one-way if students walked, and factoring in waiting times and walking back, many students expressed concerns over dedicating so much time within their schedules to vote.

In October 2022, students advocat-

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In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote “the Court [concludes] that ‘[t]he basic and consequential tradeo s’ inherent in a mass debt cancellation program ‘are ones that Congress would likely have intended for itself.’ … the Court has required the Secretary [of Education] to ‘point to ‘clear congressional authorization’’ to justify the challenged program.”

The court’s opinion o cially struck down federal student loan cancellation unless Congress at a later point approves such a program. In response, Biden said via an o cial statement the termination of his nancial relief program was unjust.

“The average amount forgiven in the PPP — the pandemic loan program — average amount forgiven was $70,000,” Biden said. “Now, a kid making $60,000 bucks, trying to pay back his bills, asking for $10,000 in relief — come on. The hypocrisy is stunning.”

In contrast, Pete Sessions, the congressional representative for the area of Texas including Texas A&M, endorsed the decision in a Tweet.

“I applaud the Supreme Court’s ruling against President Biden’s unconstitutional student loan forgiveness program,” Sessions wrote. “The ruling is a victory for our constitution, and a rea rmation of our commitment to the rule of law … such reform cannot be implemented by unilateral executive action.”

Msc Voting Continued From

the A&M chapter of Mobilize, Organize, Vote and Empower, or MOVE Texas, partnered with Mothers Against Greg Abbott to arrange for shuttles with Aggie Spirit Buses.

Berry apologized in September 2022 and said she was in favor of reinstating the MSC early voting location in 2023. Hancock admitted the MSC was a popular early voting location, later stating she hoped the city hall would still be a viable voting location for students, according to KBTX.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Hancock began her presentation by addressing an ADA survey of the 24 voting centers, entailing what changes were made to ensure physical accessibility. Hancock ensured all issues would be fixed by the beginning of the early voting period.