The US President Joe Biden announced extends pause on student loan repayments

President Joe Biden declared further extension of the federal student loan repayment freeze on Wednesday, this time till September.

This would be the sixth extension of the gap, which has lasted more than 24 months and two presidential administrations. Borrowers saved roughly $200 billion over that time, according to the Federal Reserve.

Today, my Administration is extending the pause on federal student loan repayments through August 31st, 2022. pic.twitter.com/xwicA1hCW3

— President Biden (@POTUS) April 6, 2022

The former Trump government implemented the policy of suspending the bills of tens of millions of Americans with college debt in March 2020, when the coronavirus epidemic drove the U.S. economy into the ground.

According to research by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz, nearly all borrowers entitled to the break have been using it, with only around 1% choosing to pay.

Even though the country makes remarkable progress since such a crisis began, Biden believes it would be hazardous to begin loan repayments immediately.

The debt repayment pause began in March 2020, at the start of the epidemic, and now will continue for at least 2 years, providing unparalleled relief to tens of millions of borrowers. According to the most recent Department of Education data, 500,000 federal student loan borrowers out of a total of more than 43 million have already been paying their loans throughout the hiatus.

According to the Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid, this is the sixth time the freeze has been prolonged by the Trump and Biden cabinets. The current extension follows claims of a government email to loan lenders instructing them not to touch with customers about the last repayment deadline, which was May 1.

The shorter extend also leaves Biden in the awkward political viewpoint of having to ask potential voters to begin loan payments on the eve of the November midterm elections until he does what so many analysts anticipate him to do and just gives additional extension during the summer. Borrowers who have fallen behind on their payments are receiving a new beginning as a consequence.