It looks like much of the country can breath a sigh of relief, if not for the next few months at least.
The Biden administration announced it is yet again extending the pause on federal student loan payments, to support those struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic.
This extension comes on the heels of a legal stonewall erected by republicans opposed to Biden’s student loan forgiveness program, which he attempted to roll out in October. A slew of lawsuits from GOP cited the relief program w unfairly excludes them and therefore shouldn’t be allowed.
“I’m completely confident my plan is legal,” said President Joe Biden in a video posted to Twitter Tuesday, referencing his student loan forgiveness program.
“But it isn’t fair to ask tens of millions of borrowers eligible for relief to resume their student debt payments while the courts consider the lawsuit,” he continued.
Officials informed borrowers the forgiveness program, which would sweep away up to $20,000 in debt relief per borrower, would launch before loan payments were set to resume in January.
CNN reports the payment pause will last until 60 days after the litigation is resolved. The outlet stated that if the program has not been implemented and the litigation has not been resolved by June 30, payments will resume 60 days after that, according to the Department of Education.
If the relief plan were to move forward unencumbered, borrowers who earned less than $125,000 in either 2020 or 2021 and married couples or heads of households who made less than $250,000 annually could have up to $10,000 of their federal student loan debt wiped away.