WASHINGTON, DC, Feb. 03, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, submitted a motion amicus curiae short before the US Supreme Court, which today supports two cases challenging the illegality of the Biden administration Student Loan Debt Repayment Plan. Biden vs. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown Challenge the government’s invocation of the HEROES Act to rewrite statutory provisions and eliminate approximately half a trillion dollars owed to the Treasury Department, in violation of both the vesting and appropriation clauses of Article I of the Constitution. NCLA also challenged the Loan Cancellation Program in a separate filing in an original lawsuit on behalf of the Cato Institute case pending in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.

The NCLA brief provides an alternative basis for the court to find a standing for states, which has been a sticking point in lawsuits against the Loan Cancellation Plan. Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina would suffer tangible harm from the government’s illegitimate debt relief plan because it undermines the Public Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). Congress created the PSLF program in 2007 to encourage individuals owing student loan debt to seek employment with public sector employers, including state governments. Under the PSLF, borrowers can forgive their entire debt by making 120 payments and working for an insured employer for 10 years. By forgiving their debt now, the Loan Cancellation Program reduces or eliminates the PSLF incentive for deferred compensation, directly affecting states’ ability to hire and retain college-educated employees.

Aside from running the NCLA for election, the NCLA also argues that the HEROES Act would be unconstitutional if it did authorize an executive body to rewrite bylaws and appropriate funds. Department of Education claims the HEROES Act empowers the Secretary of Education to…