Opinion

State of Nebraska v. Biden

Court
District Court, E.D. Missouri
Filed
Oct 20, 2022
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 24.2%

The opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

EASTERN DIVISION

STATE OF NEBRASKA, et al., )

)

Plaintiffs, )

)

v. ) Case No. 4:22CV1040 HEA

)

JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., et al., )

)

Defendants. )

OPINION, MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary

Injunction [Doc. No. 3]. Defendants have filed their response in opposition to the

Motion. The parties appeared in person for a hearing on the Motion on October 12,

2022. The Court has thoroughly reviewed the pleadings, affidavits, exhibits, and

memoranda of law submitted by the respective parties, and has considered the

arguments presented at the hearing. For the reasons set forth below, the Court

concludes Defendants’ arguments are well-taken and this matter will be dismissed.

Facts and Background

On September 29, 2022, six states – Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa,

Kansas and South Carolina (Plaintiff States) – brought this action for declaratory

and injunctive relief against Defendants President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Secretary

of Education Miguel Cardona, and the United States Department of Education,

alleging the Department’s student debt relief plan contravenes the separation of

powers and violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) because it exceeds

the Secretary’s statutory authority and is arbitrary and capricious.

Higher Education Act of 1965

Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as enacted and amended

(HEA), by Congress provides the Secretary of Education (Secretary) authorization

to “assist in making available the benefits of postsecondary education to eligible

students” through the provision of federal financial aid. 20 U.S.C. § 1070 et seq.

The HEA establishes several student loan programs, like the William D. Ford

Direct Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP).

New FFELP loans stopped being issued on July 1, 2010. HEA loans that originated

after July 1, 2010 have been issued under the Direct Loan Program (Direct Loans).

FFELP borrowers still in repayment can generally consolidate their FFELP loans

into Direct Loans at no cost. See 34 C.F.R. § 685.220. The HEA also provides how

and when loans can be paid, including repayment options, like income-based

repayment plan, and forgiveness, like public service loan forgiveness. See, e.g., 34

C.F.R. § 685.219; 20 U.S.C. §§ 1098e; 1087e(d)(1); 1078(b)(9)(A)(v).

The Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003

In 2003, Congress enacted the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for

Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act). Pub. L. 108-76, 117 Stat. 904 (2003)

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(codified at 20 U.S.C. §§ 1098aa-1098ee). The HEROES Act allows the Secretary

to “waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student

financial assistance programs under title IV of the Act as the Secretary deems

necessary in connection with a war or other military operation or national

emergency …” 20 U.S.C. § 1098bb(a)(1). “The term ‘national emergency’ means a

national emergency declared by the President of the United States.” Id. at §

1098ee(4). The Secretary’s waiver or modification must be “necessary to ensure

that” one of certain statutory objectives is achieved, including to ensure that

“recipients of student financial assistance ... who are affected individuals are not

placed in a worse position financially in relation to that financial assistance

because of their status as affected individuals” and that administrative

requirements placed on those are “minimized, to the extent possible without

impairing the integrity of the student financial assistance programs, to ease the

burden on such students and avoid inadvertent, technical violations or defaults.” Id.

at § 1098bb(a)(2). The HEROES Act explicitly states that the Secretary is “not

required to exercise this waiver or modification authority…on a case-by-case

basis.” Id. at § 1098bb(b)(3). The HEROES Act defines “affected individuals” to

include people who reside or are employed “in an area that is declared a disaster

area by any Federal, State, or local official in connection with a national

emergency” or who “suffered direct economic hardship as a direct result of a war

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or other military operation or national emergency, as determined by the Secretary.”

Id. at § 1098ee(2)(C)–(D).

COVID-19 Pandemic

Most recently, the Secretary has used the HEROES act to provide relief in

response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was declared by former President

Trump as a national emergency in March 2020. Accordingly, on March 20, 2020,

the Secretary relied on the HEROES Act to pause the accrual of interest and

repayment for all federally held student loans from March 13, 2020 until March 27,

2020. On March 27, 2020, Congress directed the Secretary to extend these policies

until October 1, 2020 under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security

Act. Pub. L. No. 116-136, § 3513, 134 Stat. 281, 404 (2020) (“CARES Act”).

When the CARES Act authorization expired, the Secretary, Defendant Cardona,

invoked the HEROES Act again to continue the student loan payment and interest

pause through December 31, 2022.

Student Loan Debt Relief Plan

On August 24, 2022, President Biden announced the Department’s student

debt relief plan to address the financial harms caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

and ensure a smooth transition back to repayment status. The Secretary announced

that the HEROES Act authorizes him to provide a “one-time” debt relief to federal

student loan borrowers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department

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plans to provide up to $20,000 in debt relief to Pell Grant recipients with loans

held by the Department and up to $10,000 in debt relief to non-Pell Grant

recipients. Borrowers are eligible for this relief if their individual income was less

than $125,000 or $250,000 for households in 2020 or 2021. Direct Loans qualify

for the debt relief. Relief for FFELP loans only qualify to those borrowers who

consolidated their FFELP loans into Direct Loans as of September 29, 2022.

The Instant Motion

In addition to filing this lawsuit, on September 29, 2022, Plaintiffs moved

for preliminary injunction, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65, seeking

to enjoin Defendants from implementing or enforcing their debt relief for student

loans and to enjoin Defendants from publishing a waiver or modification under the

HEROES Act to effectuate the student loan debt cancellation.1

At the hearing, the parties argued in support of their respective positions.

Defendants confirmed that no student debt relief would occur before October 23,

2022.

1 On September 30, 2022, the parties filed a stipulation, proposing an expedited schedule for

resolving the instant motion. Plaintiffs also agreed to withdraw their Motion for Temporary

Restraining Order if the Court granted their stipulation to allow the parties to file their briefs and

schedule a hearing on the preliminary injunction. On October 17, 2022, the Court granted

Plaintiffs’ formal notice of withdrawal for their Motion for Temporary Restraining Order.

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Legal Standards

Preliminary Injunction

It is axiomatic that the standard for issuance of the “extraordinary and

drastic remedy” of a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction is very

high, see Mazurek v. Armstrong, 520 U.S. 968, 972 (1997), and by now very well

established. “A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy never awarded

as of right.” Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 24 (2008), quoting

Munaf v. Green, 553 U.S. 674, 689-90 (2008). “Whether a preliminary injunction

should issue involves consideration of (1) the threat of irreparable harm to the

movant, (2) the state of the balance between this harm and the injury that granting

the injunction will inflict on other parties litigant, (3) the probability that movant

will succeed on the merits, and (4) the public interest.” Dataphase Sys., Inc. v. C.L.

Sys., Inc., 640 F.2d 109, 113 (8th Cir. 1981). “At the base, the question is whether

the balance of equities so favors the movant that justice requires the court to

intervene to preserve the status quo until the merits are determined.” Id.

Article III Standing

Article III of the Constitution limits the jurisdiction of federal courts to

“Cases” and “Controversies.” U.S. Const., Art. III, § 2. “One element of the case-

or-controversy requirement” is that Plaintiffs “must establish that they have

standing to sue.” Raines v. Byrd, 521 U.S. 811, 818 (1997). Article III standing is a

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threshold inquiry in every federal case that determines whether the Court has the

power to decide the case. See, e.g., United States v. One Lincoln Navigator 1998,

328 F.3d 1011, 1013 (8th Cir. 2003); Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 498 (1975).

“The law of Article III standing, which is built on separation-of-powers

principles, serves to prevent the judicial process from being used to usurp the

powers of the political branches.” Clapper v. Amnesty Int'l USA, 568 U.S. 398, 408

(2013). The “standing inquiry has been especially rigorous when reaching the

merits of the dispute would force [a court] to decide whether an action taken by

one of the other two branches of the Federal Government was unconstitutional.”

Id., quoting Raines, 521 U.S. at 819–20. “Relaxation of standing requirements is

directly related to the expansion of judicial power.” United States v. Richardson,

418 U.S. 166, 188 (1974).

“The party invoking federal jurisdiction bears the burden of establishing

standing.” Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus, 573 U.S. 149, 159 (2014). The

“irreducible constitutional minimum” of standing consists of three elements.

Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 578 U.S. 330, 332 (2016), citing Lujan v. Defenders of

Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560 (1992). “To satisfy Article III's standing requirements,

a plaintiff must show (1) it has suffered an ‘injury in fact’ that is (a) concrete and

particularized and (b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical; (2) the

injury is fairly traceable to the challenged action of the defendant[s]; and 3) it is

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likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that the injury will be redressed by a

favorable decision.” Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Env't. Servs. (TOC), Inc.,

528 U.S. 167, 180–81 (2000), quoting Lujan, 504 U.S. at 560–561. “For an injury

to be particularized, it must affect the plaintiff in a personal and individual way.”

Spokeo, 578 U.S. at 332 (internal quotation marks omitted). Further, a “concrete”

injury requires a “‘de facto’ injury, that is, to actually exist.” Id. “Although

imminence is concededly a somewhat elastic concept, it cannot be stretched

beyond its purpose, which is to ensure that the alleged injury is not too speculative

for Article III purposes—that the injury is certainly impending.” Clapper, 568 U.S.

at 409.

Discussion

As articulated above, most fundamental to the Court’s determination is the

issue of standing. “[S]tanding is to be determined as of the commencement of the

suit.” Lujan, 504 U.S. at 570 n. 5. If a Plaintiff lacks Article III standing to bring its

claim, the Court has no subject matter jurisdiction over the suit. Miller v. Redwood

Toxicology Lab., Inc., 688 F.3d 928, 934 (8th Cir. 2012). “[W]here one plaintiff

establishes standing to sue, the standing of other plaintiffs is immaterial.” Nat'l

Wildlife Fed'n v. Agric. Stabilization and Conservation Serv., 955 F.2d 1199, 1203

(8th Cir. 1992) (quoting Bowen v. Kendrick, 487 U.S. 589, 620 n. 15 (1988).

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“[T]he question whether a particular state agency ... is ... an arm of the State,

and therefore ‘one of the United States’ within the meaning of the Eleventh

Amendment, is a question of federal law.” Regents of the Univ. of Cal. v. Doe, 519

U.S. 425, 429 n. 5 (1997). In answering that federal question, however, courts must

“consider[ ] the provisions of state law that define the agency's character.” Id.

Specifically, courts assess the agency's degree of autonomy and control over its

own affairs and, more importantly, whether a money judgment against the agency

will be paid with state funds. See Regents, 519 U.S. at 430; Hadley v. N. Ark.

Cmty. Technical Coll., 76 F.3d 1437, 1439 (8th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 519 U.S.

1148 (1997).

Plaintiff State of Missouri and MOHELA

The Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri (MOHELA)

is authorized to act as a servicer for federally held student loans, including Direct

Loans and FFELP loans. MOHELA, a non-profit entity, was established by statute

in 1981 as “a public instrumentality and body corporate” and deemed exercises of

the powers conferred in the legislation to be “the performance of an essential

public function.” Mo. Rev. Stat. § 173.360. The statute also gave MOHELA the

authority “to sue and be sued” and “to acquire, hold and dispose of personal

property.” Mo. Rev. Stat. § 173.385.

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Missouri contends MOHELA is suffering from several ongoing financial

harms because of the Department’s student debt relief plan, mainly focusing on the

harms caused by consolidating FFELP loans into Direct Loans. For instance,

because MOHELA will lose a vital established source of income when FFELP

loans are consolidated into Direct Loans, it deprives MOHELA of an asset it

currently owns and the ongoing interest payments and revenue the FFELP loans

would have generated. Missouri argues this will harm MOHELA’s ability to issue

bonds and access debt markets because the entity uses the income it receives from

the student loans as security for bond payments. Missouri claims MOHELA is also

enduring injury in the form of compliance costs by undertaking significant efforts

to comply with the student debt relief plan.

Missouri, the only Plaintiff state with a relationship to MOHELA, alleges its

sovereign and quasi-sovereign interest is harmed because MOHELA’s loss of

revenue, limited access to debt markets and lesser borrowing capacity from the

student debt relief will impair MOHELA’s ability to provide student loans and

financial aid assistance to its residents.

Missouri, however, fails to connect the alleged harms to MOHELA as harms

to the State of Missouri, i.e., does Missouri establish it has standing to sue on

MOHELA’s behalf? Missouri maintains it can sue for MOHELA because

MOHELA is a state entity that performs “essential public function[s]” that includes

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ensuring “post-secondary education students have access to student loans” and

providing financial support to Missouri’s public colleges and universities. Mo.

Rev. Stat. § 173.360.

Missouri does impose some control over MOHELA, which is assigned by

statute to its Department of Education, like authorization for the Governor to

appoint five members of the seven-member board and requiring a yearly report on

its income, expenditures, bonds, and other forms of indebtedness issued. Mo. Rev.

Stat §§ 173.445, 173.360. However, when it was established, MOHELA's revenues

and liabilities were specifically and completely independent of the State of

Missouri. The enabling legislations stated in relevant part that “[t]he proceeds of

all bonds or other forms of indebtedness issued by the authority and of all fees

permitted to be charged by the authority and of other revenues derived shall not be

considered part of the revenue of the state…shall not be required to be deposited

into the state treasury, and shall not be subject to appropriation by the general

assembly.” Mo. Rev. Stat. § 173.425. The statute also states that “[t] he state shall

not be liable in any event for the payment of the principal of or interest on any

bonds of the authority or for the performance of any pledge, mortgage, obligation,

or agreement of any kind whatsoever which may be undertaken by the authority.”

Mo. Rev. Stat § 173.410. Additionally, “[n]o breach of any such pledge, mortgage,

obligation, or agreement may impose any pecuniary liability upon the state or any

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charge upon the general credit or taxing power of the state.” Mo. Rev. Stat. §

173.410. These provisions make clear that the legislature intended to create a self-

sustaining and financially independent agency. The express financial separation of

MOHELA established by Missouri law and the lack of any obligation for Missouri

to pay MOHELA's debts, strongly militates against finding MOHELA to be an

"arm of the State."

Missouri has not met its burden to show that it can rely on harms allegedly

suffered by MOHELA. MOHELA, not the State, is legally liable for judgments

against it. MOHELA cannot pay any debt of the state, and the State is in no way

obligated to pay any debt that it incurs. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 173.386. “The vast

majority of MOHELA’s funds are segregated from state funds and controlled

exclusively by MOHELA.” Dykes v. MOHELA, 2021 WL 3206691, at *4 (E.D.

Mo. July 29, 2021) (finding that MOHELA was not an “arm of the state” for

purposes of Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity). There is no legal

obligation or evidence that Missouri has paid or would pay any judgment on behalf

of MOHELA. Further, the Court has found no cases where Missouri affirmatively

sued on behalf of MOHELA or stepped in to shield MOHELA from its legal or

financial obligations with its immunity. MOHELA is a “self-sustaining and

financially independent agency.” Id. MOHELA can sue and be sued in its own

name and retains financial independence from the state. Indeed, Missouri appears

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to recognize this distinctiveness. In preparation for this action, Missouri made a

Missouri Sunshine Law request to obtain documents from MOHELA.2 Therefore,

its claimed financial harms are not attributable to the state in which it operates, and

Missouri cannot establish standing to bring its claims3 or establish standing

through any arguments relating to MOHELA.

Consolidation

Plaintiff States Arkansas and Nebraska4 claim several harms from the

Department’s student debt relief plan’s incentive to consolidate FFELP loans into

Direct loans. However, on the same date the instant motion was filed, the

Department announced that as of September 29, 2022, borrowers with federal

student loans not held by the Department cannot obtain the one-time student debt

relief by consolidating those loans into Direct Loans. Following the announcement,

the consolidation cut-off decision was published in the Federal Register. Plaintiffs

2 Curiously, the State of Missouri’s “dot.gov” website fails to include MOHELA as an

agency/department of the state, whereas, the Department of Health and Senior Services, which

was the subject of Judge Noce’s Opinion in Missouri v. Biden, 576 F.Supp.3d 622 (E.D. Mo

December 20, 2021), is specifically included. Likewise, MOHELA’s “dot.com” website

contains no reference to its status as a division/department/agency of the State of Missouri. See

https://www.mo.gov/ and https://www.mohela.com/ (Last visited October 20, 2022).

3 Since MOHELA is not a party to this lawsuit, the Court will not address the issue raised by

Defendants that exclusive jurisdiction lies in the Court of Federal Claims pursuant to

the Contract Disputes Act.

4 Missouri’s claims that MOHELA will be harmed by the incentive to consolidate will not be

addressed since the Court has already determined Missouri does not have standing to bring

claims on behalf of MOHELA. As to the sole claim alleged by Iowa, Kansas, and South

Carolina, it will be addressed separately.

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argues the consolidation cut-off does not impact their claims because the

Department may change their mind about the consolidation cut-off. Plaintiff also

contends because consolidation takes time, the preliminary injunction could stop

the consolidation of those FFELP that have not yet completed the process.

However, the student debt relief plan at issue here is separate from a borrower’s

ability to consolidate. Borrowers are still able to consolidate FFELP loans into

Direct Loans pursuant to the conditions listed in 34 C.F.R. § 685.220, but those

FFELP loans consolidated after September 29, 2022, will no longer be eligible for

the one-time student debt relief. Because Plaintiffs seek only prospective relief,

they must articulate an ongoing injury. The lack of the ongoing incentive to

consolidate defeats the claims of Arkansas and Nebraska as set forth below.

Arkansas and ASLA

The Arkansas Student Loan Authority (ASLA), a division of the Arkansas

Development Finance Authority, is “the instrumentality of the state charged with a

portion of the responsibility of the state to provide educational opportunities in

keeping with all applicable state and federal laws.” Ark. Code Ann. § 15-5-

1902(a)(2). ASLA’s mission includes: “(1) Making loans; (2) Purchasing loans and

security interests in loan participations as authorized; (3) Paying incidental

expenses in connection with loans; (4) Paying expenses of authorizing and issuing

bonds; (5) Paying interest on bonds until revenues are available in sufficient

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amounts from the bonds; and (6) Funding reserves as necessary.” Id. § 15-5-

1904(c). ASLA is authorized to act as a servicer for federally held student loans

under the FFELP. See Plaintiffs’ Exhibit 5, Williams Decl., ¶¶ 3, 5. ASLA

generates revenue through collecting an administrative fee, which is calculated

based on a percentage of the total outstanding FFELP loan balance. Id. ¶ 6. A

portion of that administrative fee is paid out by ASLA for administrative and

serving costs, and the excess is retained as revenue. Id. The revenue primarily goes

to ASLA’s operating expenses, but could be used to finance additional student

loans. Id.

Arkansas, the only Plaintiff with a relationship to ASLA, alleges its financial

and proprietary interest is harmed because the reduction in ASLA’s revenue caused

by the incentive to consolidate FFELP loans into Direct Loans could limit its

ability to provide education opportunities to Arkansans through financing further

student loans. However, ASLA only holds FFELP loans, which are not subject to

relief under the Department’s plan. As discussed, supra, FFELP loans consolidated

into Direct Loans after September 29, 2022 will no longer be eligible for the relief

at issue. Therefore, the lack of the ongoing incentive to consolidate FFELP loans

into Direct Loans defeats standing; there is no longer an ongoing injury to ASLA’s

revenue stream that could be a consequence of the Department’s student debt relief

plan. Arkansas’s only remaining claim is that the Department could decide to

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declare FFELP loans eligible for cancellation, which could reduce ASLA’s

revenue and could limit its student loan financing. This position is too attenuated to

show a concrete and particularized injury for the purposes of standing. A

“concrete” injury is a “de facto” injury that actually exists. Spokeo, 578 U.S. at

332. Arkansas has presented no other basis outside of claims connected to its

alleged harms from consolidation. Therefore, Arkansas has not met its burden of

establishing standing in this case.

Nebraska and NIC

The Nebraska Investment Council (NIC) is responsible for investing various

assets held by the State of Nebraska, including the State’s pension fund. Neb. Rev.

Stat. § 72-1239.01. The NIC has multiple accounts with Nebraska’s state funds

invested in privately held FFELP student loan asset-backed securities (SLABS).

See Plaintiffs’ Exhibit 2, Walden-Newman Decl., ¶ 3. NIC’s investment firm has

advised NIC that it expects the Department’s student debt relief plan will increase

prepays for FFELP SLABS. Id. ¶ 8.

Nebraska argues that the consolidation of FFELP loans into Direct Loans

will cause investors in SLABS to receive money back earlier than anticipated,

ending the interest income flow that SLABS generate, which will likely cause

financial injury to NIC. Further, when the FFELP loans are pre-paid, the SLABS

market declines, which Nebraska contends will lower the value of NIC’s

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investments. Because of the harm to its investments, Nebraska claims the student

debt relief plan harms its quasi-sovereign interest in protecting the well-being of its

public employees, including pensioners of the state. This claimed injury to the

NIC’s investments would only exist if the incentive to consolidate the FFELP

loans into Direct Loans remained. Because the FFELP loans consolidated into

Direct Loans after September 29, 2022 will not be included in the student debt

relief under the Department’s plan, Nebraska’s speculative chain of possibilities

does not establish that potential financial injuries are ongoing or certainly

impending. Nebraska has not met its burden; Nebraska lacks standing to bring this

claim.

The States of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina

Plaintiff States Nebraska Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina attempt to assert

a threat of imminent harm in the form of lost tax revenue in the future. Currently,

federal student loan discharges are not taxable under federal law between

December 31, 2020 and January 1, 2026. Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and South

Carolina have chosen to adopt this definition of taxable income in their own state

tax codes. They likewise plan to tax federal student loan discharges that occur after

January 1, 2026. Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina argue that they will

lose tax revenue to the extent that the total amount of loan discharges they

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currently project to occur after January 1, 2026, is reduced because of the

Department’s student debt relief plan.

These future lost tax revenues are merely speculative. Moreover, there is

nothing imminent about what may happen several years in the future. The

Department’s student loan debt relief plan does not prohibit the States from

proposing, enacting or implementing legislation. These States’ sovereign power to

set its own tax policy is not implicated by the student debt relief plan, and their

legislatures are free to propose and pass tax revenue plans as they see fit.

The effect upon future taxation is uncertain. [T]hreatened injury must be

certainly impending to constitute injury in fact… allegations of possible future

injury” are not sufficient.” Clapper, 568 U.S. at 409. The tenuous nature of future

income tax revenue is insufficient to establish a cognizable injury to support

standing to bring this action.

Conclusion

Because Plaintiff States – Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, and

South Carolina – have failed to establish Article III standing, the Court lacks

jurisdiction to hear this case. It should be emphasized that “standing in no way

depends upon the merits of the Plaintiff[s’] contention that the particular conduct is

illegal.” Warth, 422 U.S. at 500. While Plaintiffs present important and significant

challenges to the debt relief plan, the current Plaintiffs are unable to proceed to the

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resolution of these challenges. “Standing is a threshold inquiry; it requires focus on

the part[ies] seeking to have [their] complaint heard in a federal court, and it

eschews evaluation of the merits. The court is not to consider the weight or

significance of the alleged injury, only whether it exists.” Coalition for the

Environment v. Volpe, 504 F.2d 156, 168 (8th Cir. 1974) (emphasis added).

Therefore, the case will be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

Accordingly,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that this

action is DISMISSED.

A separate Order of Dismissal in accordance with this Opinion,

Memorandum and Order is entered this same date.

Dated this 20" day of October, 2022.

Kagkdoed [nig

HENRY EDWARD AUTREY

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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