Biden’s Education Secretary may have opened the door to further delay in student loan payments past October – Business Insider
- The pause on student loan payments is set to lift at the end of September.
- Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said conversations are ongoing on whether to extend the pause.
- He said last month an extension was not “out of the question,” but no further details were provided.
As one of his first actions in office, President Joe Biden extended the pause on student-loan payments through September to give borrowers financial relief during the pandemic. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Wednesday hinted at the possibility of extending the pause even further.
“We are continuing conversations about if that’s the best time,” Cardona told the Senate Appropriations Committee. “No announcements today, but we continue to have those conversations.”
Cardona testified before the Senate committee on Wednesday morning regarding the education components in Biden’s budget proposal, during which he acknowledged the relief that borrowers have received under the student loan payment pause during the pandemic. New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said that payments restarting in October is “a huge concern for borrowers” and stressed the need to provide certainty for them regarding whether the pause will be extended.
The conversations Cardona mentioned have been ongoing since at least May. At an Education Writers Association conference last month, he said extending the payment pause is “not out of the question.”