The Supreme Court of USA examines this Tuesday a measure of Joe Biden to nullify part of the colossal student debta matter with great economic implications and high risk for the Democratic president.
The nine magistrates will question the representatives of the administration who want to alleviate the debts contracted by millions of students. His detractors consider it an abuse of power at a very high cost.
The sentence, which is expected before June 30, will have a direct impact on the finances of former students. But the court, with a conservative majority, could take the opportunity to limit President Biden’s room for maneuver.
Nearly 43 million Americans have federal student loans totaling $1.6 trillion to repay.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the government of Republican President Donald Trump suspended the repayment of these loans due to economic paralysis. It did so thanks to a 2003 law that allows “relieve” to holders of student debt in case of “national emergency”.
The measure has remained in force until now.
At the end of August, President Biden, who describes himself as a defender of workers and the middle class, wanted to go a step further and announced that he would forgive $10,000 to those who earn less than $125,000 a year, and $20,000 to those former fellows.
As expected, there was no shortage of candidates. The White House records 26 million applications, which is equivalent to a total bill for the State of 400,000 million dollars.
The court blocked the application of the measure after being denounced by a coalition of Republican states, but also by two students who cannot take advantage of the $20,000 discount.
They accuse the Democratic administration of having exceeded its powers under the pretext of the pandemic and of having allocated taxpayer money without consulting Congress. They allege that the 2003 law provides for the possible freezing of the debt, not its cancellation.
“A breath”
“Once again the Court must prevent the administration from illegally invoking covid-19 to assert power beyond what Congress could have conceived”writes the state of Nebraska and its allies in arguments sent to the hearing.
“We are sure that we have the legal authority” to act, the White House spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, responded this Monday at a press conference, recalling that the ultimate goal of the program is “Give tens of millions of Americans across the country a respite.”
But the Court has inflicted several setbacks on the Democratic administration, invalidating measures taken to block rental evictions during the pandemic or to force certain populations to get vaccinated.
In an attempt to avoid a further snub, the Democratic government alleges that the plaintiffs have no right to take legal action because “They suffered no harm.”
He asks the Court to dismiss the claim, without ruling on the merits.
Other voices hostile to a strong central power hope that the temple of American law will take advantage of this issue to clip the wings of the federal government.
“This case offers a relevant opportunity to strengthen the constitutional barriers that prevent administrative agencies and executive departments from exercising legislative functions”the Chamber of Commerce, an organization of businessmen, wrote to the court, asking it to insist that “They cannot make an important political decision without the express authorization of Congress.”
The high court used thisdoctrine” last June to limit the powers of the Environmental Protection Agency in its fight against global warming.
If it strengthens it, the administration could find itself unable to act on important issues at a time when Congress itself is paralyzed by partisan divisions.
Source: AFP
Source: Gestion
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