Supreme Court hears challenge to Biden student debt relief plan – National & International News – TUE 28Feb2023

Supreme Court hears challenge to Biden student debt relief plan.

Judge allows Sandy Hook families to probe Alex Jones’ finances.

Anger in Israel after settlers get slap on wrist for deadly rampage.

NATIONAL NEWS

Supreme Court hears challenge to Biden student loan relief plan

The Supreme Court heard arguments today in legal challenges from several conservatives states who want to block Biden’s student debt relief program. The plan would eliminate up to $20,000 in student debt for low-income borrowers and up to $10,000 for individual borrowers earning less than $125,000 per year. The Congressional Budget Office says the plan would cost about $430 billion over 30 years.

The problem of “standing”

Attorneys Generals in six states are suing to block the program, but legal experts say their standing to bring the challenges is questionable. A person or entity demonstrates standing in a case by demonstrating they will be harmed if an action is carried out, financially or otherwise. Since the loans are federal loans, forgiveness wouldn’t cost individual states anything.

Instead, the attorneys general are arguing that private loan servicing companies based in their states would lose money (and therefore the state would lose tax money) because they would receive less in interest, servicing fees and penalty fees from borrowers. None of the loan servicing entities themselves have sued.

Two borrowers who do not qualify for forgiveness under the plan’s framework are also suing. Their standing is also shaky as they would gain nothing if they win.

Executive overreach?

Even though the standing of the parties bringing the suit is uncertain, the Justices could choose to strike down the plan on the merits of the law. The Department of Education is arguing that the 2003 HEROES Act gives the department the authority to erase or decrease student debt.

Legal experts say that this justification is broad but not necessarily applicable. The HEROES Act allows the department to modify the parameters of student loan repayments. However, critics of the plan say the Act doesn’t give the department the authority to do away with debt altogether.

During arguments today, the conservative Justices seemed most interested in tackling the problem from that perspective. Several of them seemed to doubt that the HEROES Act gave the administration the authority to do away with $430 billion in debt.

Student debt relief advocates have long said that the strongest justification for relief comes from the 1965 Higher Education Act. They argue that this law gives the Department of Education unambiguous and unlimited authority over matters of federal student loans. Both the Biden administration and previous administrations have used the 1965 law to forgive debt for certain borrowers.

A ruling in the case is due by the end of June this year.

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Judge allows Sandy Hook families to probe Alex Jones’ finances

Last year, two groups of family members of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting won settlements totalling $1.5 billion against conservative conspiracy pundit Alex Jones. Jones repeatedly made false statements about the shooting being a hoax. As a result, the surviving family members suffered years of threats and harassment from people who bought into Jones’ narrative.

Now, a judge has ruled that the families can retain a forensic financial investigator to dig into Jones’ finances so they can collect their settlement. Jones has declared bankruptcy in an attempt to avoid paying. However, Jones’ filings in a Texas bankruptcy court show that Jones spends nearly $100,000 a month. 

The ruling will allow the families to track down money Jones has hidden in trusts and various shell companies. Jones may also face a third Sandy Hook-related defamation trial this year.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Anger in Israel after settlers get slap on wrist for deadly rampage

Tensions have flared between West Bank Palestinians and Jewish Israelis living in illegal settlements following an Israeli military raid in Nablus last week which killed 11 Palestinians. On Sunday, a suspected Palestinian gunman killed two Jewish settlers in a village near Nablus. Shortly thereafter, about 400 settlers, many of them armed and under the protection of the Israeli military, carried out violent raids on several villages in the area. At least one Palestinian was killed, a medic whose brother said he’d recently returned from volunteering in quake-hit regions of Turkey. 

During the rampage, which went on for several hours, at least 30 Palestinian homes and over 100 cars were set ablaze. At least 390 Palestinians suffered injuries, many from inhaling smoke and tear gas. Despite the massive riot and the presence of security personnel, only eight settlers were arrested. Six of those were released almost immediately without charge and two were placed under house arrest.

As shocking as this is, it’s typical according to the Israeli rights group Yesh Din. Only 3% investigations into attacks against Palestinians by settlers result in a conviction, the group says. About 93% of investigations end without an indictment.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently retook power in Israel with the help of a far-right nationalist coalition. Some members of this coalition praised the rioters. They also forced Netanyahu to renege on a promise to halt new settlements in the West Bank. Netanyahu agreed to the pause at a peace summit with Palestinian and US leaders this weekend in Jordan.

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