Student loan interest is set to kick back in when payments resume, but some Senate Democrats are asking President Biden to waive it
CBSN
As millions of federal student loan borrowers are set to start repaying their student loans in roughly two months, a group of Democratic senators are calling on President Joe Biden to waive interest, which has been set at zero percent throughout most of the coronavirus pandemic. The move could save borrowers millions of dollars a month even as repayments kick back in.
The Biden administration announced in August that an extension of the student loan repayment pause – giving some 42 million borrowers a break – would run through January 31, 2022 as people continued to struggle with the pandemic. Student loan repayment had been on hold since March 2020, when COVID-19 sent the U.S. into an economic crisis. Interest is also set to kick back in when loans resume. But the group of 14 lawmakers want the interest waived through the end of the coronavirus pandemic health emergency.
"Accumulating student loan interest can be a daunting challenge for borrowers with the lowest incomes or the heaviest student debt burdens," the senators said in the letter Monday to Mr. Biden. The group noted that the debt has also disproportionately impacted Black, Latino and Native communities.
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