The Bail-Out (or 523(a)(8))

68. Rosario v. United States Department of Education , 592 U.S. 69 (2020) Kagan, J., delivered the opinion of this Court, joined by Justices Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Breyer              Section 523(a) of the United States Bankruptcy Code exempts from discharge a variety of debts that may linger and latch onto the debtor after they have received their discharge. Most prevalent among them is Section 523(a)(8), debt for educational benefit. As of this writing, approximately 45 million Americans have bankrolled their education in part or in full via funds received as an educational benefit, cumulatively accounting for $1.6 trillion in outstanding student debt. The Bankruptcy Code was enacted in 1978, and the 1970 Commission on Bankruptcy Laws first proposed that government loans be deemed nondischargeable for five years, based upon the perception that a great number of soon-to-be-wealthy graduates of medical and law schools would abuse the system. First the compromise was made to all