Several Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, N.Y., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Mass., urged Biden to extend the moratorium through at least March 2022. In a June letter, they s…
The Biden administration on Friday issued what it says will be the final extension to a student loan moratorium that has allowed millions of Americans to put off debt payments during the pandemic. Under the action, payments on federal student loans will remain paused through Jan.31,2022. Interest rates will remain at 0% during that period, and debt collection efforts will be suspended. Those measures have been in place since early in the pandemic but were set to expire Sept.30. In announcing the decision, President Joe Biden said the economy is recovering “at a record rate.” But he said the road to recovery will be longer for some Americans, especially those with student loans. “This will give the Department of Education and borrowers more time and more certainty as they prepare to restart student loan payments,” Biden said in a statement. “It will also ensure a smoother transition that minimizes loan defaults and delinquencies that hurt families and undermine our economic recovery.” The policy applies to more than 36 million Americans who have student loans that are held by the federal government. Their collective debt totals more than $1.3 trillion, according to the latest Education Department data. Questions about the moratorium had been swirling in recent weeks as its expiration date approached. Even as the economy improves, there have been concerns that borrowers are not ready to start payments again.
