Volume 600 U. S. Part 1 Pages 477–550

OFFICIAL REPORTS OF

THE SUPREME COURT June 30, 2023

Page Proof Pending Publication

REBECCA A. WOMELDORF reporter of decisions

NOTICE: This preliminary print is subject to formal revision before the bound volume is published. Users are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D.C. 20543, pio@supremecourt.gov, of any typographical or other formal errors. OCTOBER TERM, 2022 477

Syllabus

BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, et al. v. NEBRASKA et al.

certiorari before judgment to the united states court of appeals for the eighth circuit No. 22–506. Argued February 28, 2023—Decided June 30, 2023 Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (Education Act) governs federal fnancial aid mechanisms, including student loans. 20 U. S. C. § 1070(a). The Act authorizes the Secretary of Education to cancel or reduce loans in certain limited circumstances. The Secretary may can- cel a set amount of loans held by some public servants, see §§ 1078–10, 1087j, 1087ee. He may also forgive the loans of borrowers who have died or become “permanently and totally disabled,” § 1087(a)(1); borrow- ers who are bankrupt, § 1087(b); and borrowers whose schools falsely certify them, close down, or fail to pay lenders, § 1087(c). The issue presented in this case is whether the Secretary has author- ity under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 (HEROES Act) to depart from the existing provisions of the Page Proof Pending Publication Education Act and establish a student loan forgiveness program that will cancel about $430 billion in debt principal and affect nearly all bor- rowers. Under the HEROES Act, the Secretary “may waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to the student fnancial assistance programs under title IV of the [Education Act] as the Secre- tary deems necessary in connection with a war or other military opera- tion or national emergency.” § 1098bb(a)(1). As relevant here, the Secretary may issue such waivers or modifcations only “as may be nec- essary to ensure” that “recipients of student fnancial assistance under title IV of the [Education Act affected by a national emergency] are not placed in a worse position fnancially in relation to that fnancial as- sistance because of [the national emergency].” §§ 1098bb(a)(2)(A), 1098ee(2)(C)–(D). In 2022, a few weeks before President Biden stated that “the [COVID–19] pandemic is over,” the Secretary invoked the HEROES Act to issue “waivers and modifcations” reducing or eliminating the federal student debt of most borrowers. Borrowers with eligible fed- eral student loans who had an income below $125,000 in either 2020 or 2021 qualifed for a loan balance discharge of up to $10,000. Those who previously received Pell Grants—a specifc type of federal student loan based on fnancial need—qualifed for a discharge of up to $20,000. 478 BIDEN v. NEBRASKA

Syllabus

Six States challenged the plan as exceeding the Secretary's statutory authority. The Eighth Circuit issued a nationwide preliminary injunc- tion, and this Court granted certiorari before judgment. Held: 1. At least Missouri has standing to challenge the Secretary's pro- gram. Article III requires a plaintiff to have suffered an injury in fact—a concrete and imminent harm to a legally protected interest, like property or money—that is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct and likely to be redressed by the lawsuit. Lujan v. Defenders of Wild- life, 504 U. S. 555, 560–561.