“As Attorney General, I will protect the Constitution, which involves fighting back against the crooked Biden bailout,” said Attorney General Bailey. “There is no such thing as cancelling a debt- there is only shifting who will bear its weight. As a combat veteran, I paid for my education in blood, sweat, and tears, so this unconstitutional redistribution of wealth is personal for me. It’s a slap in the face to every working American who made a different choice, and my office will use every legal tool at our disposal to halt any attempt by the Biden Administration to saddle Missourians with other people’s debt.”
Missouri’s lawsuit argues that creating a roughly half-trillion-dollar loan-cancellation program that extends to nearly all borrowers is a stunning exertion of power and a matter of great economic and political significance. The administration rests its argument on the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act), a limited bill created for a different purpose.
The HEROES Act simply does not justify the Secretary’s sweeping creation of this discharge program. That Act was enacted shortly after the start of the Iraq War, primarily to ensure that active-duty military may pause their student-loan payments while serving our country. Every congressional finding supporting the Act focused on providing relief to people serving in the “military” for “our nation’s defense.” Congress gave no hint when adopting the HEROES Act that it intended to eliminate student loans, let alone the massive amount of debt canceled through this program. And no administration has used it to erase student-loan debt.
Before reaching the nation’s highest court, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals had sided with the states and enjoined Biden’s unlawful bailout, holding that Missouri and its student loan servicing company, MOHELA, would be “negatively impacted” by the plan.
Joining Missouri in filing suit are the attorneys general of Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and South Carolina.