Taxpayer group asks high court to stop loan forgiveness plan

Listen to this article

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin taxpayers group that unsuccessfully brought a lawsuit seeking to block President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness program is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.

The Brown County Taxpayers Association on Wednesday asked the high court to put the program on hold and consider the group’s appeal. Federal officials have not responded to the filing, WLUK-TV reported.

The suit filed by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on behalf of the taxpayers group argued it was an overextension of executive power that improperly sidestepped Congress.

The complaint was thrown out by a federal judge in Wisconsin and then rejected by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. U.S. District Judge William Griesbach also nixed an emergency motion for injunction.

The debt relief plan began accepting applications on Monday.

Biden enacted the program under the HEROES Act, which was passed after the Sept. 11 attacks sparked an American-led military campaign aimed at terrorism. The act gave the executive branch authority to forgive student loan debt in association with military operations or national emergencies.