DeVos Throws Lifeline to Sinking Students, Urges Congress To 'Do Its Job' Amid Lockdown
The Trump administration on Friday suspended all federal student loan payments through the end of January and kept interest rates at 0 percent, extending a moratorium that started early in the pandemic but was set to expire at the end of this month.
The measure was included in a March relief package and the White House extended it in August, but its fate was in doubt amid stalemate over a new relief bill.
“The added time also allows Congress to do its job and determine what measures it believes are necessary and appropriate,” Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a statement.
“The Congress, not the Executive Branch, is in charge of student loan policy.”
Under the measure, students will not be required to make payments, their loans will not accrue interest and all collection activity will halt until the end of January.
DeVos used her authority to pause federal student loan payments in March. Congress later cemented the measure in legislation and President Donald Trump extended it through December.
Last month, the American Council on Education and dozens of other higher education associations urged DeVos to extend the relief.
“Bringing millions of Americans back into repayment in the thick of this crisis will cause additional financial hardship and force borrowers to make difficult decisions about their limited resources,” the groups wrote in a letter to DeVos.
Presumptive president-elect Joe Biden has not directly addressed the moratorium but on Tuesday called for “relief from rent and student loans.”
He has also supported proposals to erase up to $10,000 in student debt for all borrowers as part of a future virus relief package.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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