Biden suspends student loans again – kinda

On Nov. 22, the Biden administration issued another extension to the obligation to repay student loans, and this time there are some notable asterisks.

This expansion follows one of many Republican-led legal challenges effectively stalled, forcing the administration to immediately stop dispersing debt relief. Giving debt relief time to go through the courts (all the way to the Supreme Court), President Biden announced what would happen to the tens of millions of stopped payments and those in forbearance ( 0% interest).

Instead of restarting the payment deadline on January 1, 2023 as planned, it will resume 60 days after the Supreme Court's decision Where on June 30, 2023, whichever comes first. While the two major cases that have made the most progress in stopping debt relief seem to rest on flimsy legal reasoning (I'm not a lawyer, admittedly), this could be the beginning of the end of our hopes for vital debt relief for these borrowers, not to mention the millions more who have been cheated out of relief due to unclear message and an arbitrary income cap.

I am convinced that our student debt relief plan is legal. But he's on hold because Republican officials want to block him.

That is why @SecCardona extends the payment break until June 30, 2023 at the latest, giving the Supreme Court time to hear the case in its current term. pic.twitter.com/873CurlHFZ

- President Biden (@POTUS) November 22, 2022

The strong conservative majority in a shattered Supreme Court will likely side with the administration. Additionally, summer tends to lower COVID-19 infection rates. That's fine, of course, but it's worth noting because nearly all payment extensions so far have been issued as COVID-19 emergency relief. Ideally, the apparently very optimistic Biden administration is working on other avenues to bring serious relief to students who are even stronger than before-meaning fewer people are left behind! Moreover, we not only need serious relief, but also our political leaders to address the (many) roots of the problem to explain why student debt affects people as badly as medical debt (which shouldn't exist) and mortgages.

(Going through The Washington Postfeatured image: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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