Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/22pdf/22-506_nmip.pdf
Page Number: 19.0

14 

BIDEN v. NEBRASKA 

Opinion of the Court 

governing student loans.  87 Fed. Reg. 61514.  The affected 
statutory  provisions  granted  the  Secretary  the  power  to
“discharge  [a]  borrower’s  liability,”  or  pay  the  remaining 
principal on a loan, under certain narrowly prescribed cir-
cumstances.  20  U. S. C.  §§1087, 1087dd(g)(1).    Those  cir-
cumstances were limited to a borrower’s death, disability,
or bankruptcy; a school’s false certification of a borrower or
failure  to  refund  loan  proceeds  as  required  by  law;  and  a 
borrower’s  inability  to  complete  an  educational  program
due to closure of the school.  See §§1087(a)–(d), 1087dd(g). 
The corresponding regulatory provisions detailed rules and
procedures  for  such  discharges.  They  also  defined  the 
terms of the Government’s public service loan forgiveness
program and provided for discharges when schools commit 
malfeasance.  See 34 CFR §§682.402, 685.212; 34 CFR pt. 
674, subpt. D.

The  Secretary’s  new  “modifications”  of  these  provisions 
were  not  “moderate”  or  “minor.”    Instead,  they  created  a
novel  and  fundamentally  different  loan  forgiveness  pro-
gram.  The new program vests authority in the Department
of Education to discharge up to $10,000 for every borrower 
with  income  below  $125,000  and  up  to  $20,000  for  every 
such borrower who has received a Pell Grant.  87 Fed. Reg. 
61514.  No prior limitation on loan forgiveness is left stand-
ing.  Instead,  every  borrower  within  the  specified  income 
cap automatically qualifies for debt cancellation, no matter
their  circumstances.    The  Department  of  Education  esti-
mates that the program will cover 98.5% of all borrowers.
See Dept. of Ed., White House Fact Sheet: The Biden Ad-
ministration’s Plan for Student  Debt Relief Could Benefit 
Tens of Millions of Borrowers in All Fifty States (Sept. 20, 
2022).  From a few narrowly delineated situations specified 
by  Congress,  the  Secretary  has  expanded  forgiveness  to 
nearly every borrower in the country.

The Secretary’s plan has “modified” the cited provisions