WASHINGTON — Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, issued the following statement in response to the Biden administration’s announcement it would extend the pause on federal student loan repayment until June 30, 2023:
“I applaud President Biden’s announcement today that the White House will extend the repayment pause on student debt payments — action that progressives have loudly championed, including through our CPC Executive Action Agenda. This will protect more than 40 million borrowers, many of whom would otherwise face predatory interest rates, as we await the Supreme Court’s ruling on the President’s executive order that would cancel up to $20,000 of federal student debt. The President is absolutely right to fervently defend this order, even as Republican attorneys general and Trump-appointed judges try to strip away this benefit that would allow millions of working people and young people to be freed from the burden of student debt payments.
“Under the Biden administration, no borrower has had to repay their federal student loans. This pause has been the first time that millions have been able to save, buy homes, invest in their communities, and generally live their lives free of the shackles of this debt. Republicans who are challenging the President’s order continue to waste taxpayer dollars in a partisan and cruel attempt to rob Americans of this desperately needed relief. This ploy to weaponize the courts and steal relief that hard-working young people, parents, and seniors have earned — including 16 million borrowers who’ve already been approved — is despicable, and it must not succeed.
“I commend the Biden administration for continuing to fight for their order — one rooted in racial and economic justice — and feel confident its legality and authority will be vindicated before the Supreme Court.”
