What happens to student loans if loan forgiveness is revoked?
Experts anticipate what would happen if the Supreme Court rejects Biden's student loan forgiveness proposal and the legislation is never implemented.
The US Supreme Court might overturn the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness program, a blow for millions of Americans who wanted their loans cancelled.
President Joe Biden said in August that he would cancel up to $20,000 in federal student debts for millions of borrowers. However, Republicans and conservative organizations launched at least six lawsuits against his idea within months.
In two of those instances, judges will hear oral arguments in late February. According to a recent CNBC story, if the program is finally invalidated, the implications might be severe.
The spike in default rates and bad loans has been described as "historic."
The U.S. Department of Education's Undersecretary James Kvaal recently stated in a court filing that if the government is not authorized to give debt relief, the implementation of COVID-19 might result in a "record surge in federal student loans and defaults."
Despite a moratorium on student loans imposed in the aftermath of prior natural catastrophes, Kvaal claims that default rates continue to grow once payments restart.
Borrowers whose responsibilities would have been totally lifted by Biden's student debt forgiveness plan, according to Kvaal, are the most likely to fail on their loans.
Official estimates place the number of individuals affected at over 18 million.
Implications for politics
Resuming payments on federal student loans without forgiveness, according to Astra Taylor, co-founder of the Debt Collective, a nonprofit that works for students, would have major electoral consequences for Democrats.
If the "ultraconservative United States Supreme Court" rejects the president's plan, Biden will have to investigate alternative legal possibilities for debt forgiveness, according to Taylor.
She mentioned the Higher Education Act of 1965 as an example of a legislation the president may use to support his agenda, which states that the Department of Education can "foreclose, pay, discharge, assign, or release any right, title, claim, or debt" relating to federal student loans.
The Effect on Black Americans
The $1.7 trillion student loan crisis has disproportionately impacted African Americans.
According to a Brookings Institution study, black borrowers frequently owe $7,400 more than their white counterparts after graduation.
This discrepancy grows over time: four years after graduation, the average black graduate owes more than $52,000 more than the average white graduate.