Biden extended the pause on student-loan payments through May 1.- This was just a month before the pause was previously set to expire, on February 1.
The Biden administration has given 43 million federal-student loan borrowers additional pandemic relief, announcing a further extension of the student-loan payment pause until May 1.
On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that the pause on student-loan payments, along with waived interest, would be extended through the end of April given ongoing concerns with the pandemic and the rise of the Omicron variant, followed soon afterward by a White House statement.
"This additional extension of the repayment pause will provide critical relief to borrowers who continue to face financial hardships as a result of the pandemic, and will allow our Administration to assess the impacts of Omicron on student borrowers," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. "As we prepare for the return to repayment in May, we will continue to provide tools and supports to borrowers so they can enter into the repayment plan that is responsive to their financial situation, such as an income-driven repayment plan."
The department made clear in August that the extension of the pause through February 1 would be "final," but the White House said earlier this month it would continue to assess the impact of Omicron and the role it will play in resuming student-loan payments next year.
Lawmakers were quick to laud the extension. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley wrote in a statement that the extension "will help millions of Americans make ends meet, especially as we overcome the Omicron variant."
Schumer, Warren, and New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez have been leading the effort in calling on the president to not only extend the payment pause, but cancel at least $50,000 in
—Senator Bob Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) December 13, 2021
In Wednesday's statement, Schumer, Warren, and Pressley added, "We continue to call on President Biden to take executive action to cancel $50,000 in student debt, which will help close the racial wealth gap for borrowers and accelerate our economic recovery."
Given the minimal warning on the further extension, lawmakers and advocates had been growing increasingly concerned about borrowers being thrown back into repayment in February. Schumer was one of the first lawmakers to sound the alarm on the payment restart, citing uncertainty with the Omicron variant.
"We want the country to ultimately cancel student debt, but in the meantime, extend the pause," Schumer said. "The pause must prevail."
Along with Omicron, some advocacy groups said rising inflation in the country presented "the strongest case imaginable" to extend the pause following November's inflation report that marked a 40-year high.
While borrowers now have additional relief and do not have to worry about making student debt payments early next year, though, pressure for Biden remains. Given that Biden's Build Back Better package is delayed, if not killed altogether, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said now is the perfect time for the president to take advantage of the executive power he has to move forward with his agenda.
"Biden needs to lean on his executive authority now. He has been delaying and underutilizing it so far," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter. "There is an enormous amount he can do on climate, student debt, immigration, cannabis, health care, and more."