Biden Set to Freeze Student-Loan Repayments for Four More Months
2022.08.24 18:49
© Bloomberg. US President Joe Biden speaks before signing H.R. 5376, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., US, on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. House Democrats last week delivered the final votes needed to send Biden a slimmed-down version of his tax, climate and drug price agenda, overcoming a year of infighting.
(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden is poised to announce a four-month extension of the moratorium on repaying student loan debt, people familiar with the matter said, as part of a broader package that’s also set to include college debt forgiveness.
The long-anticipated effort to ease the burden on student borrowers is set to be unveiled Wednesday, according to people familiar with the timing. The latest loan repayment pause would run through Dec. 31 and would be the final one Biden backs, according to a person familiar with the matter.
It’s the seventh freeze extension since the Covid-19 pandemic began in March 2020, and would take the pause beyond the November midterm elections, in which Democrats are hoping to stave off a loss of their slim House and Senate majorities. The latest pause in loan repayments is set to expire Aug. 31.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
For several months, Biden has been weighing forgiving $10,000 per borrower in student debt and capping the relief at incomes of $125,000 to $150,000 a year. But advocates — including progressive lawmakers, civil rights groups and labor leaders — have pressured the White House to forgive higher debt-loads, arguing they are disproportionately carried by Black or lower-income students.
Read more: Biden to Unveil Student Loan Plan Allies Fret Is Too Meager
Support from young voters could help boost Democrats’ showing in the upcoming balloting.
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