President Joe Biden has announced that his administration will extend its freeze on student loan payments until no later than June 30, 2023.
The announcement comes after Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan was blocked by two federal courts, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
“I’m confident that our student debt relief plan is legal,” the president tweeted on Tuesday. “That’s why [Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona] is extending the payment pause no later than June 30, 2023, giving the Supreme Court time to hear the case in its current term.”
The pause on student loan payments was initiated as part of Biden’s COVID relief plan and payments were originally set to resume in January 2023.
Along with his tweet, Biden shared a video in which he said, “As Americans continue to recover from the pandemic, my administration’s been working to provide student debt relief to millions of working and middle-class families across the country.”
“But [Republican] elected officials sued to deny this relief even for their own constituents,” he continued. “But I’m completely confident that my plan is legal. But right now, it’s on hold because of these lawsuits.”
“The Department of Justice is asking the Supreme Court to rule on the case,” the president said. “But it isn’t fair to ask tens of millions of borrowers eligible for relief to resume their student debt payments while the courts consider the lawsuit.”
Two separate lawsuits have been filed against the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan.
One suit was jointly filed by six states arguing the program circumvents congressional authority and threatens their future tax revenues. On November 14, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court issued an injunction temporarily barring the program that “will remain in effect until further order of this court of the Supreme Court of the United States.”
Another suit was filed by a conservative advocacy group alleging the Biden administration violated proper procedures by not allowing borrowers who did not qualify for the program to provide public comment. On November 10, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman declared the policy an “unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s legislative power.”
It is truly amazing that the same people who are against the student loan forgiveness had nothing to say about the six trillion dollars in tax relief for the rich!!!