Teachers’ Union boss Randi Weingarten had a breakdown outside the Supreme Court, shouting that it’s “not fair” for the courts to block student debt relief.
Weingarten, 65, gave an impassioned speech on Tuesday in support of Joe Biden’s $10,000 debt relief program, which has been stalled by state courts fighting it. The plan is estimated to cost taxpayers $400 billion over the next three years.
“Honestly, and this is what really pisses me off,” Weingarten said. “During the pandemic, we understood that small businesses were hurting, and we helped them, and it didn’t go to the Supreme Court to challenge it. Big companies struggled, and we helped them, and it didn’t go to the Supreme Court to challenge it.
“Suddenly, when it comes to our students, they’re challenging it, the companies are challenging it, the student loan lenders are challenging it. That’s not good, that’s not fair, and we fight against that when we say cancel student debt. This is about the people, and it’s about the future of the people, and it’s about all your futures.’
After a series of legal challenges, including from six GOP states, the nine justices will hear arguments for Biden’s plan to wipe out up to $20,000 in individual federal student loan debt, which could cost taxpayers as much as $400 billion .
Randi Weingarten, 65, said it “makes me angry” that the small business pandemic stimulus was not challenged, but student debt was. “Honestly, and this is what really pisses me off,” Weingarten said
“During the pandemic, we understood that small businesses were hurting, and we helped them, and it didn’t go to the Supreme Court to challenge it. Big companies struggled, and we helped them, and it didn’t go to the Supreme Court to challenge it. When it comes to our students, they suddenly challenge it’
The plan, which Biden announced in August, would forgive $10,000 in student loans to those earning less than $125,000 and married couples earning less than $250,000 combined. That forgiveness would amount to $20,000 if the borrower received a Pell scholarship, which helps students from low-income families.
“Today my administration is calling for student debt forgiveness in the Supreme Court,” President Biden tweeted. “This assistance is critical to more than 40 million Americans recovering from the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. We are convinced that it is legal.’
A Supreme Court ruling puts more at stake than student loans. If the nation’s highest court rules that Biden’s executive action is unconstitutional, it could give more power to states’ legal challenges to federal policymaking.
Republicans immediately denounced Biden’s order as unfair to those who did not attend college and would have to help pay for the forgiveness plan through taxes — or to those who have already paid off their loans or never took out loans.
On the other hand, some activists said the plan didn’t go far enough, claiming that all student loan debt should be wiped out.
“This is about the people,” Weingarten said Tuesday. “And this is about the future of the people. And this is about all your futures.’
The plan, which Biden announced in August, would forgive $10,000 in student loans to those earning less than $125,000 and married couples earning less than $250,000 combined. That forgiveness would amount to $20,000 if the borrower received a Pell scholarship, which helps students from low-income families
After a series of legal challenges, including from six GOP states, the nine justices will hear arguments for Biden’s plan to wipe out up to $20,000 in individual federal student loan debt, which could cost taxpayers as much as $400 billion
Six Republican-led states challenged President Biden’s proposal, claiming the administrative process needed to go through a proper response and response period, also claiming it was too broad in scope.
The 6-3 Conservative majority will have the final say on the matter after it has worked its way through the legal system.
Biden’s legal basis for trying to forgive some student debt is a 2003 law known as the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act, more commonly known as the HEROES Act.
The law, introduced after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, was intended to prevent military personnel from being worse off financially during their deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The law has now expanded to allow Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to provide assistance in times of national emergency – in this case COVID-19.
The White House argues that ending the national emergency does not change the legal status of canceling student loan debt because COVID-19 affected millions of borrowers who may have fallen behind on their loans during the pandemic.
Activists demand that all student debts be forgiven. “This is about the people,” Weingarten said Tuesday. “And this is about the future of the people. And this is about all your futures’
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (pictured) also spoke at the event
“The economic impact of the pandemic is still real,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said, while at the same time insisting that the pandemic is over. “We’re trying to get people back on their feet.”
According to their legal brief, the states argue that the proposal pursues “breathtaking and transformative power” by relying on “a tenuous and pretextual connection to a national emergency.”
Student loan borrowers have entered a year of uncertainty.
Biden’s announcement of forgiveness in August also came as he announced the latest extension of student loan deferments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying people should resume regular payments on January 1, 2023.
However, the president decided to extend the moratorium until the summer, when the term of office of the Supreme Court typically ends, and an advisory opinion on the case is due.
Since the program launched, 26 million borrowers have applied for the waiver, despite limbo status.
The White House continues to maintain that its approach is legally sound.
