Biden extends student loan payment freeze
Student debt relief campaigners on Tuesday welcomed U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to yet again extend a temporary pause on federal loan payments in response to Republican lawsuits targeting his cancellation plan.
“I’m completely confident my plan is legal. But right now it’s on hold because of these lawsuits. We’re not going to back down though, on our fight to give families breathing room,” Biden said in a video, noting his administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in.
Stressing that “it isn’t fair to ask tens of millions of borrowers eligible for relief to resume their student debt payments” while waiting on a court ruling, the president explained that Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is extending the freeze to no later than June 30, 2023. Payments would restart 60 days later.
Unveiled in August, Biden’s plan would cancel up to $10,000 in debt for federal borrowers with incomes below $125,000 for individuals or $250,000 for households. Borrowers who received Pell Grants would have up to $20,000 forgiven.
After the GOP responded with a flurry of lawsuits, the Department of Education earlier this month stopped accepting applications for the relief program. However, tens of millions of Americans have already sent in their information, and the administration has pledged in emails to borrowers that “we will discharge your approved debt if and when we prevail in court.”
Echoing Biden’s confidence that the relief plan will ultimately take effect, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday that the pause “gives student loan borrowers more opportunity to pay down their debt and reach important milestones in life like opening a savings account, purchasing a home, and saving for retirement.”
Braxton Brewington, a spokesperson for the Debt Collective, said that “the least the Biden administration could do is not collect on a debt they promised they would cancel.”
“This pause extension is necessary, but also the bare minimum,” Brewington added. “What 45 million borrowers truly need is a Biden administration that won’t allow fringe lawsuits and right-wing courts to undermine economic relief that’s already receive approval.”
Originally published at Commondreams.org.
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