The Supreme Court’s decision about student loan forgiveness is drawing near. As millions of Americans anticipate the rulings, advocates of student debt relief probe another avenue that may help President Joe Biden to achieve his goal. However, it may take a lengthy rule-making process while the student loan payments’ temporary pause and interest waiver ends in September
Amidst the Covid19 pandemic, the 2003 Heroes Act has granted authority to President Biden and the Secretary of Education to halt student loan payments due to the national emergency. Recently, a proposal was created by President Biden to not only halt the said payments but rather to erase $10,000 to $20,000 from students’ debt, while some students’ loan debt may be completely forgiven.
Despite this wonderful proposition, The Supreme Court may block the student loan forgiveness proposal before the court adjourns this Summer. As Americans await the ruling, certain student loan advocates have found another alternative path that can make this proposal into reality, The Higher Education Act, signed into law in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
According to a Yahoo article, the said law will provide power to the Education Secretary to “compromise, waive, or release” federal student loans. Contrary to the Heroes Act, the Higher Education Act has no condition that only using a national emergency can the President and Education Secretary be given the power to forgive the debt.
However, in a Bloomberg interview, Shugerman said that this might take a very long time to invoke due to its lengthy rule-making process, and may face legal oppositions, delaying the said student loan forgiveness proposal way after payment resumes preferably until after the election this 2024.
In addition, the interest waiver and payment pause granted through the Heroes Act will end in September 2023, and individuals will continue to pay their student loans this October 2023. Let’s just hope and wait.