Amicus Briefs
State of Nebraska v. Biden
CASE SUMMARY
NCLA filed an amicus curiae brief in the lawsuit brought by six States—Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina—to block the Biden Administration’s unlawful student loan debt cancellation plan. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Education’s invocation of the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (HEROES) Act of 2003 to rewrite statutory provisions to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars owed to the Treasury violated both the Vesting and Appropriations Clauses of the Constitution.
The Department of Education’s scheme was legislative in character because it amended laws duly passed by Congress. It was also an appropriation because any amount of canceled debt directly reduces funds that would otherwise flow into the Treasury. The HEROES Act would be unquestionably unconstitutional if it empowered an executive agency like the Department of Education to amend statutes and appropriate funds. Yet, that was in essence what the Biden Administration (mis)interpreted that law to do. In short, the Department of Education relied on an unconstitutional interpretation of the HEROES Act to justify its unlawful mass debt cancellation plan.
On June 30, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in this case that the student loan debt cancellation plan was unlawful.
OUR TEAM
RELEVANT MATERIALS
NCLA FILINGS
PRESS RELEASES
NCLA Notches Supreme Court Amicus Win Against Biden's Student Loan Debt Handout
June 30, 2023 | Read More
NCLA Amicus Brief Argues States Have Standing to Challenge Student Loan Debt Cancellation Plan
February 3, 2023 | Read More
NCLA Amicus Brief Supports States’ Suit Against Biden Admin’s Mass Student Loan Cancellation
October 25, 2022 | Read More
IN THE MEDIA
The Major Questions Doctrine Is Compatible with Textualism
NCLA Blog
August 11, 2023
Court’s Student-Loan Decision Is Not Legally Controversial
July 11, 2023