Joseph R. Biden v. State of Nebraska and Department of Education v. Myra Brown, Brief of 128 U.S. Representatives, Including 25 Members of the House Committee on Education & the Workforce as Amicus Curiae in Support of Respondents

29 Pages Posted: 12 Feb 2023

See all articles by Jennifer Mascott

Jennifer Mascott

George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School

R. Trent McCotter

George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School

Sophia L. Cabana

George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School, Students

M. Erica Crouse

George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School, Students

Jamieson Knopf

George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School, Students

Talia Semaan

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: February 03, 2023

Abstract

Petitioners’ assertion of power to forgive every federal student loan in the country, potentially even a decade after the COVID-19 pandemic ends, raises significant separation of powers concerns. The power of the purse is one of Congress’s most potent checks against the executive branch, yet Petitioners’ overly broad reading of the HEROES Act risks encroaching on that power, as well as Congress’s Article I legislative authority, by arrogating to the Secretary of Education the authority to forgive a trillion dollars in federal debt that otherwise would be owed to the Treasury. The Court should require clear statutory authority before adopting an interpretation that risks significant conflict between the legislative and executive branches.

Keywords: Student loans, Separation of Powers, Legislative Power, Executive Power, Heroes Act, Debt forgiveness, Judicial review, Checks and Balances, Administrative Law

JEL Classification: I22, I28, K23, H11, H52, H81

Suggested Citation

Mascott, Jennifer and McCotter, R. Trent and Cabana, Sophia and Crouse, Mary and Knopf, Jamieson and Semaan, Talia, Joseph R. Biden v. State of Nebraska and Department of Education v. Myra Brown, Brief of 128 U.S. Representatives, Including 25 Members of the House Committee on Education & the Workforce as Amicus Curiae in Support of Respondents (February 03, 2023). Gray Center Separation of Powers Brief 23-01, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4354003

Jennifer Mascott (Contact Author)

George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School ( email )

3301 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22201
United States
(703) 993-8168 (Phone)

R. Trent McCotter

George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School ( email )

3301 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22201
United States

Sophia Cabana

George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School, Students ( email )

3301 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22201
United States

Mary Crouse

George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School, Students ( email )

3301 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22201
United States

Jamieson Knopf

George Mason University, Antonin Scalia Law School, Students ( email )

3301 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22201
United States

Talia Semaan

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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