Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/22-506_nmip.pdf
Page Number: 1.0

(Slip Opinion) 

OCTOBER  TERM,  2022 

1 

Syllabus 

NOTE:  Where  it  is  feasible,  a  syllabus  (headnote)  will  be  released,  as  is 
being  done  in  connection  with  this  case,  at  the  time  the  opinion  is  issued. 
The  syllabus  constitutes  no  part  of  the  opinion  of  the  Court  but  has  been 
prepared  by  the  Reporter  of  Decisions  for  the  convenience  of  the  reader. 
See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Syllabus 

BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, ET AL. 
v. NEBRASKA ET AL. 

CERTIORARI BEFORE JUDGMENT TO THE UNITED STATES 
COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT 

No. 22–506.  Argued February 28, 2023—Decided June 30, 2023 

Title  IV  of  the  Higher  Education  Act  of  1965  (Education  Act)  governs
federal financial aid mechanisms, including student loans.  20 U. S. C. 
§1070(a).  The Act authorizes the Secretary of Education to cancel or 
reduce loans in certain limited circumstances.  The Secretary may can-
cel a set amount of loans held by some public servants, see §§1078–10,
1087j, 1087ee.  He may also forgive the loans of borrowers who have 
died  or  become  “permanently  and  totally  disabled,”  §1087(a)(1);  bor-
rowers  who  are  bankrupt,  §1087(b);  and  borrowers  whose  schools 
falsely certify them, close down, or fail to pay lenders.  §1087(c).  

The  issue  presented  in  this  case  is  whether  the  Secretary  has  au-
thority under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students
Act of 2003 (HEROES Act) to depart from the existing provisions of the
Education Act and establish a student loan forgiveness program that
will  cancel  about  $430  billion  in  debt  principal  and  affect  nearly  all 
borrowers.  Under the HEROES Act, the Secretary “may waive or mod-
ify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student fi-
nancial assistance programs under title IV of the [Education Act] as 
the Secretary deems necessary in connection with a war or other mili-
tary  operation  or  national  emergency.”    §1098bb(a)(1).    As  relevant 
here, the Secretary may issue such waivers or modifications only “as 
may be necessary to ensure” that “recipients of student financial assis-
tance under title IV of the [Education Act affected by a national emer-
gency] are not placed in a worse position financially in relation to that
financial  assistance  because  of 
[the  national  emergency].” 
§§1098bb(a)(2)(A), 1098ee(2)(C)–(D). 

In 2022, as the COVID–19 pandemic came to its end, the Secretary