Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) issued the following statement in response to the Biden Administration’s decision to extend the pause on student loan payments through August 2022:
“I applaud President Biden for extending the emergency deferment of student loan payments, which has provided significant economic relief to millions of student borrowers throughout this pandemic in New Jersey and across the country. This pause has made life a little easier for hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans as our state continues to recover from the devastating economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“However, there is more the President can do to provide student borrowers with more enduring economic relief. Before restarting student loan payments, I urge him to exercise his full executive authority under existing law to cancel up to $50,000 in student loans. I also urge him to further extend this pause—beyond August 31st—to fix longstanding issues with income based repayment (IBR), public service loan forgiveness (PSLF), and issues regarding federal student loan servicers. This would open a door of opportunity for millions of student borrowers who have previously postponed buying their first home, opening a small business, or even starting a family because of their student debt.
“In Congress, we removed a key barrier to cancelling student debt when my Democratic colleagues and I passed the American Rescue Plan, which included my provision to eliminate surprise tax payments on forgiven student debt. The only thing left standing between millions of borrowers and much needed relief is the stroke of a pen, and the President should not wait any longer. More than 43.4 million student borrowers deserve an opportunity to build a brighter and more prosperous future, without the burden of crushing student debt.”
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