A look at what led to the Supreme Court's decision to block student debt relief
NORTH TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) — In a 6-3 decision Friday morning, the Supreme Court blocked President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan. The president's plan would have provided relief to roughly 40 million Americans who stood to have up to $20,000 in student debt.
Millions have been anxiously awaiting this decision since December 2022, when the high court announced it planned to hear the case.
Here's a look at some of the moments that led up to it:
In March of 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump Administration paused federal student loan repayments and set interest rates to 0%. That pause was extended by both the Trump and Biden administrations, and payments have been on hold ever since.
During his 2020 campaign, President Biden pledged that his administration would forgive at least $10,000 in federal student debt.
In August of 2022, more than a year into his presidency, the president announced details of the plan. In addition to the $10,000 relief for eligible borrowers earning less than $125,000 a year, the administration also wanted to offer an additional $10,000 in relief to qualifying Pell Grant recipients.
Pell Grants go to borrowers with the greatest financial need.
The move launched multiple legal battles. But the one that ultimately made it to the Supreme Court and that resulted in Friday's decision was a lawsuit filed by six states in September of 2022.
According to the Biden Administration, more than 26.2 million people applied for the program, and more than 16 million of those applications were approved before the Department of Education stopped accepting applications due to legal challenges.
Loan borrowers have to begin repayments again on Sept. 1 of this year.
How big is the student debt issue in the United States?
Americans have more than $1 trillion in federal student debt alone.
The latest numbers from the Department of Education show 43.6 million borrowers owe $1.6 trillion.
Millennials carry the bulk of that debt.
By state, Texans owe the most with 3.8 million people in $127 billion of debt.
If you're one of the 43 million Americans with student debt, there are repayment options. Learn more at StudentAid.gov.
