House Extends CARES Act Protections to Private Student Loans – Newsweek
The House of Representatives has adopted an amendment to extend student loan protections granted under the CARES Act to those whose debt is held privately.
Measures under the CARES Act moved to pause student loan repayments and suspend interest through to September 30, however this only applied to government-held federal student loans.
This left those with private loans without such protections, leading Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) to propose an extension to them. The amendment to extend CARES student loan protections was adopted by voice on Monday.
“The language pauses borrower payment obligations, accrual of interest, negative credit reporting, and debt collection,” Rep. Adams said, in a tweet.
In addition, as the CARES student loan protections expire on September 30 this year, the amendment extends the private student loan protections an additional year until September 30, 2021.
Speaking in the House, Adams outlined the amendment, which applies to the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, and spoke of people struggling with student loans amid the coronavirus pandemic. She said the amendment was “simple and fair,” in extending the loan protections to private borrowers.