Student Loan Borrowers To Expect Announcement from Biden Administration Next Week as Pause on Payments Set To End on August 31

Student Loan Borrowers To Expect Announcement from Biden Administration Next Week as Pause on Payments Set To End on August 31
As the moratorium on federal student loan payments is about to expire on August 31, US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona says Americans can anticipate a decision from the Biden administration in the "next week or so." AFP via Getty Images

The Biden administration will decide on student loan payments, which have been on hold since March 2020, within the next week or so, on NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona stated.

Aside from the loan payment freeze, the Biden administration has faced pressure from Democratic legislators and student debt advocates to cancel up to $50,000 in student loans.

Student Loan Announcement To Come in "Next Week or So"

President Joe Biden stated in April that he was considering student debt reductions, but that it would take a few weeks, but no formal announcements were made. Cardona also tackled teacher shortages, calling it "a sign of what I call a teacher respect issue," adding that "we need to respect the profession more."

On CBS' 'Face the Nation,' he also stated, "we need to make sure we're supporting our educators, giving them working circumstances where they feel connected to the community and supported in the work that they're doing." In March, the Department of Education urged states to use money from the American Rescue Plan to address the nationwide teacher shortage and boost student recovery, as per USA Today.

Since March 2020, federal student loans have been frozen due to the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying financial difficulties, including record high inflation, petrol costs, and, most recently, a recession is generally defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth.

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden both extended the student loan moratorium, but Cardona would not say if the current administration will do so for the fifth time on Sunday. While federal student loans have been suspended for forgiveness, interest has also ceased to accrue. Simultaneously, the government has considered canceling $10,000 for each borrower with outstanding federal loans, as well as implementing a "targeted forgiveness" program that has erased billions of dollars in debt.

On Tuesday, the White House announced an extra $3.9 billion in student loan forgiveness, this time for graduates of the now-defunct ITT Technical Institute. The newest installment takes Joe Biden's total student debt forgiveness to $32 billion since taking office, but progressives continue to press the president to cancel all current federal student loans. They argue that targeted forgiveness, as well as the plan to erase $10,000 in student loan debt per borrower, do not go far enough to address the student loan issue, according to Daily Mail.

Will Biden Cancel Student Loans?

Here are three reasons why Biden could opt to enact comprehensive student loan forgiveness and another payment freeze. First, Biden has explicitly advocated for both broad-scale student loan forgiveness and a student loan payment moratorium. Biden has advocated for $10,000 in student loan forgiveness for borrowers since his 2020 presidential campaign.

While progressive Democrats like Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) want Biden to erase $50,000 in student debt, Biden has indicated his opposition to this kind of loan forgiveness. Biden, on the other hand, has consistently mentioned $10,000 in student loan forgiveness. Similarly, since taking office, Biden has extended the student loan payment moratorium four times.

The student loan payment moratorium is now set to expire in a matter of days. Biden has not said whether or not student loan payments would resume. However, Biden has not stated that he will not provide student loan relief for the sixth time. With around 10 days to the end of the student loan payment pause, Biden would be unusual in waiting this long if he intended to cancel the student loan payment pause.

However, student loan holders are aware that the moratorium is only temporary, and payments may resume on September 1, 2022, unless another extension is granted. Despite delaying the announcement of his new student loan scheme, Biden has made significant modifications to student loans. Republicans unveiled a fresh plan for student loan forgiveness that differs significantly from the Biden administration's initial proposal, Forbes reported

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