Boston (June 30, 2023) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Biden v. Nebraska to strike down President Joe Biden’s student-debt relief plan:

“The stolen, far-right Supreme Court majority has no shame. From yesterday denying colleges and universities the ability to uphold equity and diversity on their campuses, to today striking down President Biden’s student-debt relief plan, these justices have simultaneously turned a blind eye to the will of the American people and to the injustices that are rooted in our systems of higher education—the bedrock of our democracy and economy. Today’s decision is callous and it will haunt this country. President Biden’s plan would have meant the difference for borrowers hoping to build their future, buy a home, and start a business. That future will now be lost. 

“Hard working families, middle class families, families fighting to overcome structural racism and systemic poverty, all of those millions of students deserve the assurance that they, too, can set out and build a bright future—for themselves, for their children, and for future generations. The Court has just struck down the promise of that future. No student should have to turn down the opportunity of a college education for fear of debt.

“We must lower the cost of a college degree, make community college free, greatly expand Pell Grants and college affordability programs, and I call on the Biden administration to do whatever it can for these millions of families and students.”