White House extends student loan debt payment pause to June
Forgiving more student loans is ‘incredibly costly, highly disappointing,’ expert warns
Maya MacGuineas, president of the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, says Biden’s promises of caring about a fiscal future ‘fall flat.’
The Biden administration on Tuesday announced that it will extend the pause on federal student loan repayments through June 30 as its broader debt forgiveness plan remains in legal limbo.
Federal borrowers were scheduled to resume payments in January.
"We’re extending the payment pause because it would be deeply unfair to ask borrowers to pay a debt that they wouldn’t have to pay, were it not for the baseless lawsuits brought by Republican officials and special interests," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
The White House's decisions comes in light of a federal appeals court ruling last week that blocked the president's $400 billion plan to cancel as much as $20,000 in debt for some borrowers. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the loan forgiveness program is "unlawful."
Payments on student loan debt will not be required until June 30 or until 60 days after court challenges to the forgiveness plan are litigated and settled.
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The Department of Education initially paused federal student loan payments in March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and set the interest rates to 0% during the freeze. This is the eighth time the measure has been extended.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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