The Biden administration on Wednesday announced an extension of the pause on federal student loan payments through May 1 amid a surge of COVID-19 cases nationwide due to the omicron variant.
In a statement, the President said his administration views the extension on the pause on federal loan payments until May 1 as a way to help manage the ongoing pandemic and further strengthen the country’s economic recovery. Previously, the administration scheduled payments to resume on Feb. 1.
“We know that millions of student loan borrowers are still coping with the impacts of the pandemic and need some more time before resuming payments. This is an issue Vice President Harris has been closely focused on, and one we both care deeply about,” Biden said.
“Given these considerations, today my Administration is extending the pause on federal student loan repayments for an additional 90 days — through May 1, 2022 — as we manage the ongoing pandemic and further strengthen our economic recovery,” the President continued.
The President’s announcement comes after mounting calls for his administration to extend the moratorium on payments that was set to expire at the end of next month, something the administration initially expressed reluctance to do. Last August, the Department of Education issued its fourth suspension of federal student loan payments during the pandemic, saying at the time that it would be the final suspension for borrowers.
Shortly after Biden’s announcement, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Ayanna Presley (D-MA) applauded the administration’s extension while continuing their demands that the administration cancel up to $50,000 in student debt.
“We’re pleased the Biden administration has heeded our call to extend the pause on student loan payments. As we stated in our December 8th letter, the pause on federal student loan payments, interest, and collections has improved borrowers’ economic security, allowing them to invest in their families, save for emergencies, and pay down other debt,” the Democratic lawmakers said in a statement. “Extending the pause will help millions of Americans make ends meet, especially as we overcome the Omicron variant. We continue to call on President Biden to take executive action to cancel $50,000 in student debt, which will help close the racial wealth gap for borrowers and accelerate our economic recovery.”
Just forgive all student loans to this date. Then figure out a better way. Kids need a break when starting out in life. There are plenty of obstacles awaiting them; life lessons. We older folk had it easier.
Edit: I guess I could have said old while folk.
I had student loans to re-pay after my college was done.
I suppose I could say I lucked out, because my grandparents died, leaving me just enough to pay off my loans and get my first car (this was in 1978 when neither cost a small fortune). I think the entire inheritance was about 20 grand?
The real killers are private student loans. While the federal loans need some reforms (the interest rates, mainly), you can at least work with them to lower or pause your payments if needed. The private loans offer no such relief.
Me, waiting for President Biden to get public credit and thanks from progressive Dems who pilloried him for not doing this:
And let me also add the ultimate issue is the crazy cost of college these days. Even state schools are running 100K+ for a BA.