AFT’s Weingarten Lauds Biden Administration’s Pause on Student Loan Payments

WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after President Joe Biden announced he is extending the pause on federal student loan payments, as his plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt for tens of millions of Americans remains blocked by right-wing extremists in court. The pause gives borrowers some additional time without payments while the Biden administration fights for its broader cancellation efforts in court:

“While President Biden tried to bring much-needed relief to 26 million borrowers struggling to pay student loans, far-right extremists have opted to stand in the way of progress and wage a full-frontal attack on those young people’s futures by pushing malicious litigation. They’ve never tried to halt Paycheck Protection Program loans or other kinds of relief that could benefit them or their allies, but when it comes to young adults and others with student loan debt, they’d rather thwart their dreams than support any type of debt relief.

“While these borrowers’ futures are in limbo, weeks ago the AFT joined with others asking the Biden administration to find an alternative to create fairness as the extremists tried to sabotage debt relief. They just did. On the eve of this Thanksgiving holiday, we give thanks to the administration, which did right by borrowers by extending the student loan payment pause.”