White House Extends Payment Pause on Student Loan Debt Due to Student Loan Forgiveness Uncertainty
The White House announced the extension of the payment pause on federal student loans due to the conflict of the student loan forgiveness plan.
The Biden administration plans to resume the federal student loan bills in January.
This policy is taken in response to a federal appeals court ruling last week that postponed the student loan forgiveness program.
Miguel Cardona, Education Secretary, said the payment pause extension is taken as it'd be unfair to ask borrowers to pay a debt they would not have to pay.
He also said that the lawsuits brought by Republican officials were baseless.
According to a press release by the US Department of Education, the pause will be extended until 60 days.
Until then, the Biden administration can implement the student loan forgiveness program.
If the legal challenges unfold after June 30, 2023, student loan payments will be restarted in 60 days.
Since March 2020, Federal student loan payments have been suspended since the pandemic first hit the US economy.
The Biden administration created the student loan forgiveness plan to ease the condition as resuming the bills will be a massive task for more than 40 million Americans.
The student loan forgiveness plan will cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for millions of Americans.
However, two lawsuits from Republican officials have been successful in temporarily pausing the relief.
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