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Oct. 20 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin group promoting taxpayer rights asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to block President Joe Biden's federal student loan forgiveness program as appeals circulate through the legal process. The Brown County Taxpayers Association filed an emergency relief request, arguing that Biden's plan denies Congress its role of controlling federal spending while saddling the government with a bill of more than $1 trillion.
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"If this program goes forward as planned on Sunday, then the president will unilaterally spend roughly 4% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product," the emergency application said, according to NBC News.
The application was addressed to Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who oversees the 7th Circuit, and could rule on it or refer it to the entire Supreme Court for consideration.
In August, Biden announced that the White House planned to forgive $10,000 in student loan debt for those making less than $125,000 annually and $20,000 for recipients of Pell grants, which assist students from lower-income families.
The lawsuit to block the student loans program failed at the district level where a federal judge dismissed it for lack of standing. An appeals court refused to overturn the ruling, clearing the way for Biden's plan to proceed.
"There is no legal justification for this presidential usurpation of the constitutional spending power, which is reserved exclusively for Congress," the Wisconsin group said in their filing, according to The Hill. "This step, which is certainly a major question ... is predicated on a law passed under different circumstances to accomplish different purposes for different beneficiaries."
The administration officially launched the online portal to begin processing student loan forgiveness applications on Monday.
