President Biden has been under relentless pressure to extend the grace period…..
And?
Even wipping out the debt entirely ….
Pushing it back to August is not unexpected….
My guess?
It will pushed back again until at least fater the midterm elections….
The Biden administration is planning to extend a pause on federal student loan repayments through August 31, according to an administration official familiar with the matter.
The repayment freeze, which has been in place since the beginning of the pandemic, was scheduled to expire on May 1.
The administration is expected to announce the extension on Wednesday, the official said.
Borrower balances have effectively been frozen for more than two years, with no payments required on most federal student loans since March 2020. During this time, interest has stopped adding up and collections on defaulted debt have been on hold.
Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have taken actions to extend the pause. Biden had previously moved the payment restart date on three different occasions.
When the Biden administration extended the pause from September 2021 to the end of January 2022, it warned that it would be the final extension. But the President pushed back the date again as Covid-19 cases were on the rise during the winter.
Recently, Biden has been facing pressure from other Democrats and consumer advocate groups to move the date once again due to inflation and ongoing supply chain issues that make everyday items more expensive for households. Dozens of Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to Biden last week urging him to extend the pause until at least the end of the year….