Biden faces additional legal challenges in student loan forgiveness efforts as GOP lawsuit takes aim at SAVE plan.

Eleven GOP-controlled states have filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday against President Joe Biden’s signature student loan repayment plan, an income-driven option that resulted in millions of borrowers paying $0 per month. 

Introduced last fall, the Saving on a Valuable Education program (SAVE) has already erased outstanding balances for tens of thousands of participants who had been repaying loans for over ten years and borrowed less than $12,000. 

The lawsuit, filed in a district court in Kansas by the state’s attorney general along with Nebraska, Iowa, Texas, Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, South Carolina, and Utah, argues that the administration is using this plan to facilitate mass student loan debt forgiveness. Biden’s previous broad relief plan was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court last year, prompting him to search for an alternative. These states allege that SAVE is his latest attempt at the same strategy.

The legal action was anticipated as it followed an earlier statement from Kansas AG Kris Kobach, who promised to challenge the plan. Kansas had previously played a significant role in the first student loan relief case that reached the Supreme Court. Biden’s initial proposal sought to eliminate up to $20,000 in student debt for numerous borrowers. 

Kobach expressed confidence in their case, stating on Fox Business a few weeks ago, “I do think we will win this time just like we won last time. Hopefully, losing twice will cause the president to back off on this.”

Legal Battle:Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness plan faces new resistance in federal court

A spokesperson from the Education Department refrained from commenting on ongoing litigation, but highlighted that Congress granted the president authority to define the terms of income-driven repayment plans in the ’90s. 

“The Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to offering assistance and relief to borrowers nationwide,” the spokesperson affirmed, “regardless of Republican officials’ attempts to impede us.”

Senate Democrats unveiled a proposed bill to enshrine the specific provisions of the SAVE plan into federal law, aiming to protect it from potential changes in leadership. 

Critics argue that widespread forgiveness will impose a hefty burden on taxpayers, including those who did not pursue higher education. Projections indicate that implementing SAVE could cost up to $230 billion over the upcoming decade. 

On the contrary, supporters laud Biden’s proactive approach in tackling a persistent crisis that predecessors avoided. At a recent campaign event, a physician’s assistant from Los Angeles shared her personal experience of nearly $150,000 in student loans being forgiven through enrolling in the SAVE plan after years of unsuccessful repayment efforts. 

“That’s life-changing,” she emphasized. 

SAVE Initiative:Biden relieves $1.2B in student loan debt for participants in income-driven repayment plans

Recent data shows that the Biden administration has authorized relief amounting to almost $144 billion for four million Americans.

Apart from this, the Education Department is developing an additional relief plan targeting specific groups of borrowers, currently undergoing regulatory evaluation and soon to be available for public feedback.