In Lockhart v. U.S., 546 U.S. ______ (2005), the Supreme Court was presented with an issue of whether Social Security benefits could be withheld to collect on student loan debt that has been outstanding for over 10 years. Petitioner James Lockhart failed to repay federally reinsured student loans incurred between 1984 and 1989 under the Guaranteed Student Loan Program. Petitioner relied on the Social Security Act which limits the availability of offsets against Social Security benefits. Further, petitioner relied on the Debt Collection Act of 1982 which generally disallowed collection of claims over 10 years old. However, in 1991, the Higher Education Technical Amendments eliminated time limitations as to certain loans. Further, 1996's Debt Collection Improvement Act made Social Security benefits subject to offset. The Supreme Court, interpreting the various laws, held that Social Security benefits can be used to offset outstanding student loan debts. **** It is interesting to note that had petitioner (a 67 year old, disabled man) filed a Chapter 7 case and sought discharge of the student loan obligation for hardship, he might have been successful. Ray