For those that have student loan debt, President Biden’s plan to forgive up to 20% percent of it sounded mighty appealing. As I think about it, maybe President Biden should issue an executive order eliminating 20% of all SBA loans, disaster loans or even federal income tax debt? Why not? The federal government doesn’t need the money. It can simply print more to keep us afloat. I obviously say this with JUST a hint of sarcasm.
With a federal deficit of $2.8 trillion in 2021, the president’s estimated student loan forgiveness program of $400 billion, struck down hours ago by the U.S. Supreme Court, sounded unfathomable, if not ludicrous. However, the emergence of this fiscally irresponsible program begs other questions. Does President Biden have constitutional authority to waive debts owed to taxpayers? Is this program fair to millions of Americans who have repaid student loan debt. Is it fair to other Americans who have taken on government-backed debt and repaid it or will have to repay it?
In August of 2022 Biden issued an executive order, forgiving up to 20% of individual federally-backed student loan debt. Immediately, legitimate questions arose concerning his constitutional authority to issue such an order. In my view, many legal scholars correctly argue that only Congress can forgive this debt by passing legislation authorizing such loan forgiveness. After all, it was Congress in 1944 that originally authorized the first federal student loan program through the G.I. Bill. This program has only evolved since that time through Congress’ legislative authority.
To me, this is a clear separation of powers issue. As we learned in grade school, Article I of the United States Constitution vests all legislative power in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. If this is the case, how can President Biden’s arbitrary decision to forgive 20% of student loan debt be constitutional?
Biden’s argument is that his executive order is constitutional. His belief is the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003, the “HEROES” Act, passed by Congress in the aftermath of 9/11, allows the federal government to change federal student loan programs during national emergencies. He claims the words waive or modify contained in the HEROES Act authorize him to wipe out student loan debt because the recent pandemic caused a national emergency.
But did the pandemic, which has been declared over for months, really create a national emergency significant enough to justify waiving debt owed to taxpayers? I think not. Rather, to me, it seems that the temporary national emergency caused by the pandemic may have justified the president’s suspension of student loan payments for a period. I would guess this is the kind of relief Congress contemplated when it included the words waive or modify in the HEROES Act.
My read of our Constitution is that Congress decides whether the debt it has authorized through legislation over the years should be forgiven. Waiving debt owed to the taxpayers is extraordinary action and should only be taken by Congress through the legislative process authorized by the United States Constitution. Congress is made up of U.S. House members and U.S. senators elected by Americans. Only these elected representatives should decide if it is fair to those Americans who have already repaid their student loan debt or fair to other Americans who owe the government money to waive student loan debt owed to taxpayers. However, for the president of the United States, by a single stroke of the pen, to wipe out $400 billion of debt owed to the U.S. Treasury is a horse of a different color. This action is a clear violation of the separation of powers. Thankfully, the Supreme Court thought so as well.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
READ NEXT: 23-Year Fox News Veteran Geraldo Rivera Quits
It is always the god worshiping globalists and their god worshiping demonrat criminal party and their god worshiping hollyweirdos and god worshiping demonrat voters collecting welfare all their life, all them receive big irs checks, that want to spend and waste the hard working American tax payer money .
Didnt go through Congress process alone
I’m a great believer in education–have 3 degrees of my own. But I never took out a loan, nor did my children for their educations. For a fact, there are ways to get an education without loans (lower cost schools, for one; scholarchips, for another.) Meanwhile, there is no reason folks who didn’t go the academic route, or who paid from their own pockets for their educations, should be required to pay off the loans of folks who chose to take out loans. I’m thankful that the Supreme Court ruled that this was outside the bounds of the president’s authority to promise. I feel for those who took out second mortgages, bought bigger houses, and did other things with their money because they were convinced the government was going to bail them out. Boo! Hoo! They should have waited to see if it were REALLY going to happen.
How is it possible that a man who spent 50 years in DC is uninformed about the power which resides in the 3 separate branches of government. Most school children know that only the Legislative branch (Congress) can make laws, the Executive branch (President) puts them into practice and the Judicial branch adjudges whether or not they are constitutional.
Obviously, it is not. He knew very well he did not have the power to forgive any sort of loan. He was clearly fishing for votes from young collage aged people (who probably don’t know he does not have that power. Luckily it made it to the Supreme Court prior to Election Day 2024!.