Tensions rise as Supreme Court braces for major student debt showdown

As the Supreme Court meets Tuesday to weigh whether the Biden administration can forgive billions of dollars in student debt, thousands of borrowers aren’t planning on resigning themselves.

More than 100 people were already outside the courthouse on Monday’s cold and rainy evening, and more buses will be brought in by groups as President Biden’s plan to ease student loans, the campaign’s flagship promise, comes before the judges.

With sleeping bags and emergency blankets at the ready, Temple University sophomore Kayla McMonagle, a first-generation college student already $20,000 in debt, was scheduled to be one of the first in line for oral argument Tuesday over two challenges to the Biden plan.

“A lot of people think of our generation that we’re not motivated to do anything, we’re always on our phones, always in our heads,” said McMonagle, a political scientist. “But this issue is affecting our generation the most so far, and it will affect the generation of our children and generations to come.”

When the controversy kicks in, organizers expect 3,000 people to attend the rally, including members of Congress, borrowers and activists.

The case probably hasn’t been decided yet, but the demonstrations are taking place as borrowers prepare to learn about the fate of the Biden plan.

Coming from a low-income family, McMonagle said the trip to Washington, D.C. and skipping midterms was worth it.

“I want to go to graduate school. I want to maybe get a PhD. I love to study. I love being at school. I want to make sure that I have a chance to continue my education. It will be amazing to me, it will almost change my life,” she said of the Biden plan.

She and a few others plan to camp out in the rain ahead of tomorrow morning’s “People’s Rally,” which has been planned by more than 20 national organizations including the NAACP, Debt Collective, and the New Georgia Project.

“The Popular Rally for Student Debt Cancellation is a powerful expression of our collective will to create a more just and equitable future. By joining forces, we can ensure that the voices of those most affected by student debt are heard and policy makers can take action,” said Natalia Abrams, president and founder of the Student Debt Crisis Center.

The rally will begin two hours before the 10:00 a.m. oral argument, when the federal government will attempt to fight back against two groups of debt relief plan opponents: six Republican-led states and two individual borrowers who did not qualify for the full $20,000 in bailouts. .

Both groups contend that the Biden administration has overstepped its authority, but the case may also depend on whether judges consider the challengers to have legal personality.

Opening the camp at sundown on Monday, Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Gen Z’s first member of Congress, told the predominantly young crowd that the country needed them.

“I’m optimistic because I’m supposed to be optimistic, but I mean we’ve seen the court make some disastrous decisions, obviously in the last year,” Frost said in an interview following his speech. “And so I remain optimistic, because at the moment we have to do it, and I hope that they will not let us down. But I mean, we’ll see.

Frost was one of the few Democratic MPs who joined the demonstrators in front of the courthouse.

“Education is the key to racial and economic justice for so many Americans, yet it remains locked in an ivory tower,” Senator Ed Markey (R-Massachusetts) later told the crowd.

The protesters say they represent the 44 million student loan borrowers who will be affected by these oral arguments and the court’s ruling in these cases.

Mikeisha Wells, a University of Michigan graduate student with more than $60,000 in debt who attended Monday night’s rally, said it was the first time she had taken part in a political demonstration.

“Debt relief up to $20,000 is really important to me as I think about the future I want to have: buying a house, creating wealth for my children,” Wells said.

Support for student debt relief is largely divided along partisan lines, with Democrats vigorously pursuing their cause, while Republicans see debt relief as unfair.

In a poll last August after Biden announced his plan, 80 percent of Democrats said they supported it, while 71 percent of Republicans opposed it.

“Tens of millions of Americans are counting on President Biden to quickly deliver the promised and already approved financial assistance,” said Braxton Brewington, spokesman for the Debt Collective.

“The Supreme Court does not have strong legal grounds for overturning relief, but if they overstep the bounds, Biden needs to use other legal tools at his disposal to provide relief,” he continued. “Trillions of dollars of student debt is a huge burden that drags borrowers along with it – that’s why we show up in court in droves.”

The FBI has arrested a man who allegedly stormed the Capitol wearing a panda costume. The Supreme Court will consider the constitutionality of funding the consumer protection bureau.

Republicans have gone on the offensive, arguing that it is wrong to use taxpayer money from people who never went to school or who have already paid off their debts to help relieve the debts of others. The GOP also argues that the plan is not helping the root cause of high college debt: college tuition costs.

Democrats say the relief would be a big help for the millions of middle and lower class Americans who struggle to pay off student loan debt every month. His success will also be the fulfillment of one of Biden’s major campaign promises.

“We will continue to insist and apply pressure after the oral debate is over and when we have a decision. It can’t stop there,” said Maggie Bell, lead organizer of the New Georgia Project, one of the groups that organized the demonstrations on Tuesday. “Ten thousand dollars or $20,000 for cancellation and release is useful, but it does not meet our requirement, right. And so we see this as a first step. But we will definitely continue to put pressure on the leaders.”

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