Student loan borrowers gathered at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., the evening before the court hears two cases on the White House student loan relief plan.
Jemal Countess | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — On the night before the Supreme Court was set to hear oral arguments over the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan, Amanda Smitley sat outside the court on an aluminum blanket holding an umbrella.
She didn’t know when she planned to spend the night staked outside the highest court that it would be pouring rain, but she wasn’t discouraged.
“I’m feeling great,” said Smitley, 20, who already has around $10,000 in student debt as a college sophomore at PennWest California. She’ll have to take out more if she wants to fulfill her hopes of graduating and becoming a high school history teacher.
“I really, really care about student debt, not even just for myself,” Smitley said. “I want to live in a world where my future students and maybe future kids won’t have to worry about getting into thousands in debt just because they want to further their education.”
Student loan borrower Amanda Smitley, 20, joined the student loan borrowers gathered at Supreme Court on Feb. 27, 2023, the night before the court hears two cases on student loan forgiveness.
Annie Nova | CNBC
Court will hear two cases against forgiveness
Despite the cold, borrowers gathered outside the Supreme Court on Monday to demonstrate in favor of the Biden administration’s forgiveness plan. More than 35 million student loan borrowers could benefit from the policy, and have up to $20,000 of their debt forgiven. If implemented, an estimated $400 billion in debt would be wiped out.
But the program has been on hold since the fall, when a federal appeals court panel in St. Louis issued a temporary injunction barring it from taking effect. The Supreme Court has kept that injunction in place as it considers challenges to the plan, and the government on its own accord stopped…
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