The Legality of the Biden Administration’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan

We the People

National Constitution Center

News, News Commentary, History

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 1 September 2022

⏱️ 64 minutes

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Summary

On August 24th, the White House announced a plan to forgive $20,000 in student loan debt for borrowers who received Pell Grants, and $10,000 for other borrowers—all of whom must meet certain income qualifications. The Biden administration says the plan falls under The HEROES Act of 2003. Those in opposition of the plan say it’s presidential overreach, and unfair to those who didn’t go to college or already paid back their loans. Fred Lawrence of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and Charles C. W. Cooke of the National Review join host Jeffrey Rosen to discuss the legal issues on all sides of the loan forgiveness plan. Questions or comments about the show? Email us at podcast@constitutioncenter.org. Continue today’s conversation on Facebook and Twitter using @ConstitutionCtr. Sign up to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate, at bit.ly/constitutionweekly.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, and welcome
0:09.2	to We The People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.
0:12.8	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit chartered by Congress
0:17.4	to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
0:22.4	At the end of August, the White House announced a plan to forgive $20,000 in student debt for borrowers who receive Pell Grants.
0:30.0	The Biden administration says that the plan falls under the Heroes Act of 2003.
0:35.0	Opponents argue that it doesn't today on we the people we will examine the legal arguments for and against the Biden administration's power to forgive student
0:46.1	debt. And it's wonderful to be joined by two great friends of We The People, Fred Lawrence, is the
0:51.5	Secretary and CEO of Phi Beta Kappa and a distinguished lecture at Georgetown Law Center.
0:57.0	He's the author of Punishing Hate Bias Crimes under American Law.
1:01.0	Fred, it is wonderful to welcome you to We The People.
1:04.0	Jeff, good to be here.
1:05.0	Thank you.
1:06.0	And Charles C.W. Cook is a senior writer for National Review, where he's written several
1:11.6	important pieces about the forgiveness plan.
1:14.8	Charlie, it is always wonderful to have you on the show.
1:17.4	Thanks for having me. It's my pleasure.
1:19.6	Fred, let's begin with the legal arguments in favor of the Let's
1:25.0	let's begin with the legal arguments in favor of the Biden administration's debt forgiveness plan.
1:28.0	The administration invokes the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003,
1:35.0	which gives the Secretary of Education authority to alleviate the hardship
1:40.0	that federal student loan recipients may suffer as a result of national emergencies.
	...

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