Aug. 21 (UPI) — Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Sunday that President Joe Biden will make an announcement regarding student loans in the coming weeks as a moratorium on federal student loan payments is set to expire.
Cardona acknowledged the Aug. 31 deadline when asked whether the administration planned another temporary extension or a “more permanent fix” during an appearance on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
“We’ve been talking daily about this and I can tell you that the American people will hear within the next week or so from the president and the Department of Education on what we’re going to be doing around that,” he said.
Cardona answered similarly when asked about whether there will be a suspension of student debt programs on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” saying “American folks will hear it before the end of the month.”
He asserted, however, that he did not have any news to announce Sunday in order to avoid getting ahead of the official announcement.
“I will tell you the American people will hear directly from us because we recognize this is an important issue across the country,” Cardona said.
Biden and the Education Department last extended the moratorium — which was initially put in place at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 — in April delaying any interest and collections in order to “allow borrowers to gain more financial security as the economy continues to improve and as the nation continues to recover” from the pandemic.
Also in April, Biden said he was not considering a proposal by Democratic leadership to cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt per borrower.
The White House, however, has suggested Biden would consider canceling $10,000 in debt per borrower, excluding those who earn more than $125,000 a year — which would fulfill a campaign promise.
