Biden's student debt plan is illegal

In 2003, Congress enacted the HEROES Act (“HEROES” stands for Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students). As implied by its name and timing, the law was enacted as a reaction to the Iraq War. Several of the floor statements from members of Congress reveal that a primary motivation for the Act was to ensure that military members could have their student loan payments deferred while serving their country.

Now, the Biden administration is attempting to use the HEROES Act to achieve a policy goal that is far different, and far more sweeping, than anything the law has been used for in the past. In August of last year, the administration announced that after a nearly three‐​year pause on federal student loan payments, certain borrowers meeting an income cutoff would receive $10,000 to $20,000 in debt forgiveness on their principal student loan balance. While the total cost to taxpayers from this program is uncertain, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated it to be around $400 billion.