WASHINGTON — President Biden announced Wednesday that his administration will extend the pause on federal student loan repayments through Aug. 31.
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
Read the original story below:
A U.S. official told The Associated Press that the White House plans to extend the pause on student loan repayments through Aug. 31.
The pause on student loan repayments, prompted by the pandemic, was set to end May 1 after an extension was announced late last year.
Interest rates are expected to remain at 0% during that period, The Associated Press reported.
More than 7 million borrowers have defaulted on student loans, which occurs after being at least 270 days late on payments, according to The Associated Press. In total, 43 million Americans owe a combined $1.6 trillion in student debt that is held by the federal government.
Education and Labor Committee Republican Leader Virginia Foxx criticized the move and said in a statement, “This isn’t about the pandemic, this isn’t about targeted relief for struggling borrowers, it’s about setting the stage for blanket loan forgiveness.”
.@virginiafoxx's reaction to reports that @POTUS will extend the student loan repayment pause for a fourth time 👇https://t.co/SVd7YRuiBs pic.twitter.com/TmvFZTqpYU
— House Ed & Labor Republicans (@EdLaborGOP) April 5, 2022
©2022 Cox Media Group
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/NB2YUNQDMPFAGTI2PJORFA7MUE.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/EDJEGEPGKZFBTO5X3EKUGDMHQA.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/K4DHJSQVK5H3NNRCY7UZAL52ME.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/6XMXVDTDJ5HHRDEEW3NZQZFZUU.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/SUSYXAGXUJBQ5OPLSGPVXRCMSM.jpeg)