The Biden administration is expected to announce an extension on Wednesday of the federal student loan payment pause until August of this year. According to CBS, a White House administration official familiar with the decision-making confirmed the news. Currently, the payment pause was scheduled to end next month.
Since March 2020, around the start of the coronavirus pandemic, federal student loan payments have been paused for approximately 43 million Americans who owe a combined $1.6 trillion in student debt held by the federal government, according to the Associated Press. In addition, the AP noted that more than 7 million borrowers are at least 270 days behind on payments.
“Borrowers will not be asked to make payments until after Aug. 31, and interest rates are expected to remain at 0% during that period,” AP noted.
The Biden administration has already extended the pause several times. In December, the student loan repayment pause was extended to May 1. Reports that the administration would extend the pause until August was first reported Tuesday by Bloomberg.
Several Democratic Senators, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (MA) and Sen. Patty Murray (WA) has pushed President Biden to extend federal student loan repayments.
"It is ruining lives and holding people back," Murray wrote in a statement last month. "Borrowers are struggling with rising costs, struggling to get their feet back under them after public health and economic crises, and struggling with a broken student loan system — and all this is felt especially hard by borrowers of color."
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Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), said on Twitter that the pause “makes a real difference for students & their families.”
I joined @SenWarren’s effort to extend the student loan moratorium, and I’m glad to see it pushed through August. This makes a real difference for students & their families.
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) April 6, 2022
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton (AR) said that “Biden’s perpetual student loan payments moratorium is an insult to every American who responsibly paid debts.
President Biden's perpetual student loan payment moratorium is an insult to every American who responsibly paid debts.
— Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) April 5, 2022
There's no free lunch: this reckless move puts taxpayers on the hook for billions.
“This reckless move puts taxpayers on the hook for billions.”
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