Student loan debt is clearly a huge burden for millions of Americans, but the U.S. Supreme Court was 100% correct in June 2023 when it ruled President Biden’s student debt cancellation program “lacked the authority” to “unilaterally cancel debt” and that “such sweeping policy changes needed explicit congressional approval.”

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The “Lone Wolf” mentality of the Executive Branch has been escalating for decades – and is now completely out of control. Executive orders, for example, are being used as a substitute for having to build consensus in Congress to pass legislation. This approach is somewhat understandable given our two-party system has severely limited the ability for anyone to get anything done, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that the way executive orders are being used is straight-up unconstitutional.

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Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution – “no money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law” – is not ambiguous in the least. The U.S. Congress has the power of the purse, meaning the U.S. Congress – AND ONLY THE U.S. CONGRESS – has the power to control government spending. This was designed to be a fundamental separation-of-powers constraint on the Executive Branch, and we should never allow it to be abused.

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Although attempting to erase the burden of student loan debt for millions of borrowers sounds like a nice thing to do – or, depending on how you look at it, a way to buy millions of votes – President Biden’s  argument that he had authority under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (HEROES) Act of 2003’s “waivers and modifications” provision is as absurd as President Trump’s arguments for why he could unilaterally pay for his “Wall.” …and Democrats sure didn’t like it when Trump tried to bypass the Constitution!

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Beyond the constitutional issues, 1787 believes across-the-board student loan forgiveness is unfair to the millions of Americans who have already paid off their student loans or chose not to go to college at all. Additionally, there are existing income-driven repayment plans that help borrowers repay their loans more easily by adjusting their payments to their income level. These plans offer forgiveness after 20 or 25 years.

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That said, 1787 also believes there should be an additional option. The Service for School program would offer anyone who wants a cost-free education the opportunity to trade their labor for it.