Student loan forgiveness; SCOTUS rejects Wisconsin group's appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court denies a Wisconsin group's student loan forgiveness appeal

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Thursday denied a Wisconsin group's emergency appeal that sought to pause student loan forgiveness that could start as early as Sunday.

MILWAUKEE - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Thursday, Oct. 20 denied a Wisconsin group's emergency appeal that sought to pause the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness plan

Student loan forgiveness could start as soon as Sunday. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), a conservative law firm, filed the emergency appeal on behalf of the Brown County Taxpayers Association.

"It simply should not be the case that the president of the United States can unilaterally choose to spend 4% of the country’s gross domestic product without clear congressional authorization," said Rick Esenberg with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty.

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"This is an issue that needs to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court," said Rod Goldhahn with the Brown County Taxpayers Association.

Earlier, both a federal judge and appeal's court also quickly threw out the case. Justice Barrett, who receives emergency appeals from Wisconsin, rejected this one a day after it was filed – but she gave no explanation as to why.

Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS)

"In the federal courts you have to be injured to file a lawsuit," explained Ed Fallone, a Marquette University Law School professor.

What's at issue is standing – whether someone can bring a case. Fallone said federal courts have not given taxpayers that standing for 40 years.

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"Can people who have no injury, a bunch of folks in Green Bay who claim as taxpayers, their tax dollars are being used in ways they don't like, are we really going to say the federal courts should be open to those kinds of claims? That would be unprecedented," said Fallone.

"The idea that nobody is being hurt is fantastical. We are already in a country that has an unmanageable debt," Esenberg countered.

Federal Student Loan Relief beta application

With that last-ditch attempt failing, it now appears the student loan forgiveness plan could start within days.

The Biden administration plan calls to wipe out up to $20,000 for Pell grant recipients; other federal borrowers would get up to $10,000 erased. Recipients and borrowers have to be under certain income limits; for single borrowers it's $125,000.

Roughly 715,000 Wisconsinites combined have $23 billion in student loan debt. The October Marquette University Law School Poll found nearly 60% of Wisconsin voters support forgiving some student loans.

During their first debate, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said the president's program was grotesquely unfair while candidate Mandela Barnes said it was absolutely fair.