Once again, the Supreme Court has shut down the Biden administration’s attempts to forgive student debt, refusing to step into an ongoing legal battle.

From NBC News. The Supreme Court on Wednesday rebuffed a Biden administration plea seeking to revive the latest plan to tackle federal student loan debt.

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The court in a brief order denied an emergency request filed by the administration seeking to lift a nationwide injunction imposed by an appeals court. There were no noted dissents. …

The Education Department issued a regulation finalizing its Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan in July 2023, the month after the Supreme Court ruled the administration lacked authority to implement President Joe Biden’s earlier loan forgiveness program.

The new effort, like the previous one, was challenged by multiple conservative-leaning states led by Missouri. …

The new proposal has several provisions, including one that would cap the amount people have to repay for undergraduate loans at 5% of their incomes. Previously the cap was 10%.

Challengers said it would require spending up to $475 billion that was not authorized by Congress. They say it should be blocked for the same reason that the Supreme Court blocked Biden’s earlier plan.

Under the “major questions” doctrine embraced by the court’s conservative justices, federal agencies cannot initiate sweeping new policies that have significant economic effects without having express authorization from Congress. …

Other provisions in the new plan would place limits on accrued interest and shorten the payment period for certain small loans, allowing them to then be forgiven.

The states sued in April seeking to block the plan, with a federal judge in Missouri finding only that the shortened repayment proposal should be put on hold.

But in an Aug. 9 decision, the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a more sweeping injunction putting other provisions on hold. …

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(Excerpt from NBC News. Photo Credit: Brad Weaver on Unsplash)