Washington, D.C.– The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) noted that a debt ceiling bill which resumes student debt payments – on a shorter timeline than previously announced – creates a repayment burden that reduces the economic security of working Americans still struggling to recover from the negative effects of the pandemic and rising inflation. View CRL’s letter to Congress.
“Restarting student loan payments on the accelerated timeline included in the debt ceiling bill will add thousands of dollars to the average borrower’s loan balance and force many into loan delinquency,” said Jaylon Herbin, director of federal campaigns at the Center for Responsible Lending. “We urge Congress not to restrict the current administration from using the legal authorities at its disposal to prevent the extension of the federal payment pause and keep the President’s promise to eliminate the inequitable burden of student loan debt.”
Additional Background
More than 26 million Americans applied for student debt cancellation, and 90 percent of student debt relief would go to low- and middle-income borrowers earning less than $75,000 per year. That includes military families, first responders and other public sector employees like teachers, and other workers saddled with high education costs and low wages, including women, Black and Latino borrowers.
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Press Contact: Vincenza Previte vincenza.previte@responsiblelending.org