Albany, NY — The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Biden v. Nebraska, finding the Biden administration’s Student Debt Relief Plan unconstitutional. The Government Justice Center and Empire Center, co-filers of an amicus brief in the case, issued the following statements.

“The Court is right to assert that the executive cannot expand its powers at-will and re-write laws to meet its current needs,” said Cameron Macdonald, executive director of the Government Justice Center. “The separation of powers is essential to our republican form of government and the rule of law. This decision correctly keeps the executive branch in check. And limits its powers only to those granted under laws passed by Congress.”

“Regardless the intent of any particular action, government officials need to be held accountable for obeying existing laws, which is what this decision is really about,” noted Tim Hoefer, president and CEO of the Empire Center. “An abuse of emergency powers like that in the Biden administration’s student debt plan sets a dangerous precedent for executive overreach. And, in this specific instance, it would have put American taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars in debt they did not sign up for.”

The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.