Today, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued the following statement after the conclusion of oral arguments before the Supreme Court on the Department’s one-time student debt relief program:

“Today, the Biden-Harris Administration mounted a powerful defense before the U.S. Supreme Court on our plan to provide targeted, one-time student debt relief to more than 40 million working- and middle-class Americans as they recover from the pandemic. The Department of Justice argued against the lawsuits aimed at denying relief to borrowers, made clear that challengers to the program lack standing to even bring their cases to court, and explained the Department of Education’s decades-old authority used by multiple administrations to protect borrowers from the effects of national emergencies.

“President Biden, Vice President Harris, and I recognize how essential this relief is for tens of millions of Americans, and we are fighting to deliver much-needed help to borrowers trying to get back on their feet after the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.

“In addition to this one-time debt relief plan focused on the effects of the pandemic, we will continue to put the needs of students and borrowers ahead of special interests, hold colleges accountable for runaway costs and unaffordable debts, and pursue historic changes to student loan repayment that will cut costs and reduce the crushing burden of student debt for millions of working families.”