Nebraska AG discusses Supreme Court case on student debt forgiveness

LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers is planning to give a live update on Tuesday’s Supreme Court hearing on student loan forgiveness, a case initially brought forward by AGs from several states including Nebraska and Iowa.

Last year, President Biden announced an unprecedented plan: forgiving all or a portion of student loan debt for 43 million eligible borrowers.

Whether or not he has the authority to do so was brought before the Supreme Court on Tuesday morning.

An estimated 370,000 Nebraskans and 660,000 Iowans stand to receive $10,000-20,000 in student loan forgiveness — if the Supreme Court agrees Biden has the authority to grant that relief.

Nebraska is in the name of one of two cases to be heard by the Supreme Court first thing Tuesday morning: Joe Biden v. Nebraska, et al. The second case, brought by two students, also argues the president doesn’t have the right to implement the policy.

Attorneys general for six states, including Iowa, are taking that fight to the opposition. The high court has set aside two hours for arguments, but it was expected to go longer.

While federal student loan payments are currently paused, that will end 60 days after the case’s resolution. If the case hasn’t been resolved by June 30, payments will resume 60 days after that.

It will likely be months before borrowers learn the outcome of the case, but the Supreme Court generally issues all of its opinions by the end of June ahead of a summer recess.

Watch Tuesday’s news conference

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