Scott, Murray Urge Biden Administration to Extend Student Loan Payment Pause
Scott, Murray to President Biden: “The relief provided by the current pause has been a financial lifeline to tens of millions of student loan borrowers nationwide.”
Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, urged President Biden to extend the pause on federal student loan payments, which is currently set to expire at the end of September. In a letter to President Biden, the members stressed that the pause on student loan payments has been a lifeline for struggling borrowers during the health and economic crises and that borrowers need more time and support in order to navigate resuming repayments.
“We write to request the Administration extend the current pause on federally-held student loan payments, interest, and collections. The relief provided by the current pause has been a financial lifeline to tens of millions of student loan borrowers nationwide. Before we restart federal student loan payments, the federal government must ensure borrowers have the information and support they need to navigate resuming repayment,” wrote the members.
The members stressed that the Administration must ensure borrowers have the information and resources they need to transition back to repayment and develop a comprehensive outreach plan, including mail, email, phone calls, and text messages to reengage borrowers and over the course of at least four months.
“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans have struggled to keep a roof over their heads, pay bills, and put food on the table. While the economy has begun to show promising signs of recovery, more than nine million Americans remain out of work, and the economic and health disparities created by the pandemic are severe. Additionally, protections and benefits like moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures and expanded unemployment benefits will expire this summer, and assistance with payments for groceries and internet service could also expire in the coming months. We are greatly concerned that student loan borrowers could face these headwinds without the appropriate support they need to successfully return to repaying their loans,” wrote the members.
To read the full letter, click here.
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