Submitted by Patrick Cassidy
WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) issued the following statement today after President Joe Biden signed an executive order directing the Department of Education to extend the pause on interest and principal payments on student loans until September 30th, 2021.
“Extending student loan relief until September 30th is one of the most straightforward steps the Biden Administration can take to extend temporary help for hundreds of thousands of Americans, and I applaud them for doing so,” said Rep. Courtney. “President Biden has entered office at a time when America is faced with two monumental challenges: generating a national response to overcome the coronavirus pandemic, and working to support Americans through the economic fallout it has caused so that we can build back stronger. This first action to extend student loan relief is an urgent one, as the existing pause on principal and interest payments were set to expire at the end of this month on January 31st. Next, the Congress must take action to expand these benefits to more borrowers who are left out, and to help lift the burden of student loan debt for the long-term. As a member of the Education and Labor Committee tasked with addressing the impact student debt has on families and our economy, I look forward to working with the Biden Administration in the coming weeks and months to pass broad-based, long-term relief.”
Rep. Courtney plans to introduce legislation to directly address these issues in the coming days.
