Extend the freeze on student-loan payments until January, Education Department officials reportedly urge Biden

• Sources told Politico that Education Dept. officials are recommending an extension of the student-loan payment pause.
• The pause is set to lift in October, and officials say an extension to January is necessary for a smooth transition.
• Democrats and organizations want the pause extended through next year to ensure borrowers are prepared.

The freeze on student-loan payments, along with zero growth in interest, is set to expire on October 1, but officials at the Education Department are reportedly calling for President Joe Biden to extend the pause through the end of January 2022, sources familiar told Politico.

An administration official told Politico that the Education Department "is working to ensure that struggling borrowers are supported when payments are lifted." Many top Democrats and advocacy groups have asked for an even longer extension.

"Every day we are making progress with respect to pandemic and economy is recovering, the official said in a statement. "We appreciate that there are still impacts for individual borrowers/families."

The Education Department did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

As the payment pause expiration is approaching, Democrats like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have been leading efforts to extend the pause and give borrowers more time to recover financially from the pandemic.

On June 21, 64 Democrats, led by Schumer and Warren, urged Biden in a letter to extend the payment pause until March 31, 2022, or until the economy returns to pre-pandemic employment levels, whichever is longer.

A few days later, 128 organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU), sent a letter to the president, urging him to extend the payment pause until the administration has followed through on its promises to fix the student-loan system and cancel federal student debt.

And most recently, on June 30, Patty Murray and Bobby Scott, chairs of the Senate and House Education Committees, respectively, sent a letter to Biden urging him to extend the payment pause until early 2022 to ensure borrowers have the information they need to restart payments.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona has hinted at the possibility of extending the payment pause, first in May when he said extending the payment pause was "not out of the question," and most recently last month, when he told the Senate Appropriations Committee that conversations on the extension are ongoing.

"Extending the pause on student loan payments, interest, and collections is a critical step toward ensuring the Department can provide borrowers with an effective re-entry for repayment," Murray and Scott wrote to Cardona. "We urge you to move forward with this request as soon as possible."