The United States Department of Education (USDOE) has extended its student loan repayment pause.
The new start date has been pushed back an additional 3 months, to September 1st of this year. This is the third time Biden has extended the pause since the pandemic.
In a statement, Vice President Kamala Harris commented, “This pause will help 41 million people keep up with their monthly bills and meet their basic needs.”
In total, however, the pause on student loan repayment has been extended 6 times, starting as early as the Trump Administration. In total, students have not had to pay back the loans for over 2 years.
In a press conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, “In order to enable Americans to continue to get back on their feet after two of the hardest years this nation has ever faced, we have announced, earlier today, of course, the plan to–the extension of the pause on federal student loan repayments through August 31st of this year.”
Total Debt
As of April 10 of this year, students owe an estimated $1.75 trillion dollars in loans, according to Melanie Hanson of Education Data Initiative. The debt comes from 43.4 million borrowers with an average federal student loan debt of slightly over $37 thousand.
Furthermore, “First-generation college students are twice as likely to report they are behind in making student loan payments,” according to Hanson.
“That additional time will assist borrowers in achieving greater financial security and support the Department of Education’s efforts to continue improving student loan programs,” said Psaki.
It is possible, suggested Psaki, that the pause will be extended once again, depending on the conditions of the school system and America at large come September.
Some members of the Senate, however, argue that rather than a pause on student loan repayments, the President should forgive loans of a certain threshold altogether. Furthermore, during his campaign, Biden pledged to approve $10,000 in student loan forgiveness, but he hasn’t yet acted on the campaign promise.
Furthermore, because its new start date is September, right before the midterm elections, student loan debt is likely to be a topic of conversation for leaders nationwide.
