- President Joe Biden said federal student loan borrowers won’t have to resume their payments until at least September.
- The Biden administration has said it wants to make its decision around forgiving student debt, which it is under intense pressure to do, before turning the payments back on.“We are still recovering from the pandemic and the unprecedented economic disruption it caused,” Biden said, in a statement.
Restarting the payments could “threaten Americans’ financial stability,” the president said, citing recent research from the Federal Reserve that forecast a rise in delinquencies and defaults when the bills begin again.
Biden is also under tremendous pressure to forgive student debt. On the campaign trail, he promised to cancel $10,000 for all.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., are pushing him to cancel closer to $50,000 per borrower.
President Joe Biden announced Wednesday another extension of the payment pause on federal student loans, this time until September.
This is the sixth prolongment of the break, which has spanned more than 24 months and two presidencies. Borrowers have saved nearly $200 billion during that period, the Federal Reserve has found.
The policy freezing the bills of the tens of millions of Americans with education debt was first established by the former Trump administration in March 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic brought the U.S. economy to its knees.
Nearly all borrowers eligible for the pause have used it, with just around 1% of them continuing to pay, according to an analysis by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
Although the country has seen tremendous improvements since the crisis began, it would be risky to resume student loan payments right now, Biden said.
{HOLIDAY SEASON LIVE} WILL NE-YO SING AT TRUMPS INAUGURATION?
HAS SINGER NE-YO AGREED TO SUPPORT TRUMP AND SING AT HIS INAUGURAL?
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