Arizona Sues Biden Admin Over Student Debt Cancellation Plan
The state of Arizona on Thursday filed a federal suit against the Biden administration challenging President Joe Biden’s move to cancel billions in student loan debt.
The move comes shortly after six other Republican-led states—Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina—on the same day filed a federal suit against the Biden administration, also against the federal student debt cancellation.
The Biden administration announced in August it would provide up to $10,000 in debt relief to borrowers who earn less than $125,000 per year, or $20,000 in debt relief to Pell Grant recipients who meet similar income standards. The move comes after months of pressure from a vocal, progressive wing of Democrats who called on Biden to fulfill his campaign promise. An application to receive the student debt relief is expected in early October.
Arizona’s legal challenge, filed in a federal court in Arizona against Biden, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, and the Department of Education, challenges Biden’s authority to cancel the student debt. The state of Arizona is asking the court to declare Biden’s federal student debt relief unconstitutional and otherwise not in accordance with the law, and stop it from going ahead.
“The Biden administration does not have the authority to cancel student debt,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s office announced on Thursday. “Despite being told by members of congress he cannot pursue such an action, Biden is relying on the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act (HEROES Act) and the COVID-19 pandemic.”
According to the lawsuit (pdf), the student debt relief is “putatively based on using the COVID-19 pandemic to invoke the [HEROES Act].”
Brnovich’s office noted that the HEROES Act was a response to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to “relieve active-duty personnel from financial hardship while defending our nation.” The act also provided for people who reside in disaster
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