'Going to be deep in the gutter': Milwaukee students react to student loan forgiveness strikedown
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Supreme Court has stopped the potential for billions of dollars in student debt relief.
The U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 to shut down Biden's student loan forgiveness plan, ruling the president does not have the authority to forgive $400 billion in student loan debt.
President Biden's student debt relief plan could have given up to $20,000 in student debt relief to 40 million Americans.
"I started crying. I knew that it was coming, but the Supreme Court made some decisions that gave me a glimmer of hope," said UW-Milwaukee graduate student Rachel La Due.
La Due told CBS 58 she's devastated after learning her $40,000 of student debt won't be going anywhere.
La Due worked two jobs to pay off her loans until the White House paused payments during the COVID pandemic.
The forbearance period allowed her to move down to one job and start grad school.
"It opened up a world of possibilities for me, that now I have to think in more restrictive terms again," La Due said. "This decision is -- will change the next decade for me."
Friday's Supreme Court decision became a reality check for many like La Due, hoping to avoid drowning in debt from exorbitant college costs.
"I'm going to be deep in the gutter in a couple years," said medical student Tori Barnhart.
President Biden intended to use the HEROES Act, which allows the education secretary to "waive or modify" student loan programs during a national emergency.
The Supreme Court majority ruled his plan to cancel $400 billion was against that statute.
"What we're seeing from this really conservative Supreme Court is they're strict constructionists. In other words, unless it exactly says you can do something, you can't," explained Mordecai Lee, professor emeritus at UW-Milwaukee.
The SCOTUS ruling sides with opponents of Biden's plan, who argue students should pay loans they willingly took out.
"Maybe you have to question the price of how much an education is. Balance that out with how much you're going to make, be able to pay for it," said local resident Tom McCarter, who agreed with the Supreme Court decision.
Lee said the ruling means any loan forgiveness would be in the hands of a split Congress.
"The defacto impact of today's decision is Biden can't do it today, and he won't be able to do it tomorrow, and frankly won't be able to it between now and the election," Lee said.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, student loan interest will resume on Sept. 1, and payments will be due starting in October.