WASHINGTON–The pause on federal student loan payments will end as part of the deal hammered out between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over the federal debt ceiling.
“The pause is gone within 60 days of this being signed. So that is another victory because that brings in $5 billion each month to the American public,” McCarthy told Fox News Sunday.
The pause on federal student loan payments was put in place during the pandemic.
According to McCarthy, “What the president did, he went unconstitutionally and said he was going to waive certain people part of their debt for student loan[s], but then he paused everybody’s student loan. So, everybody who borrowed a student loan within 60 days of the signing is going to have to pay that back.
‘This is the Law’
“The Supreme Court is taking up that case,” McCarthy continued. “But if the Supreme Court came back and said that was unconstitutional, the president could still say he’s pausing, not waiving it. But now that this is in law, the Supreme Court decision will have to be upheld, that they would have to pay.”
While McCarthy was positioning himself and the Republicans as being responsible for the resumption of federal student loan payments, as CUToday.info reported earlier, Ecucation Secretary Miguel Cardova had said in mid-May that the pause would end later this year.
Timing Depends on Supreme Court
However, the timing of that depends on how the Supreme Court might rule in the next month on a case challenging a student loan forgiveness program. Should a pause on payments come to an end under the debt deal, it would mean student loan payments could restart about a month earlier than expected this year, The Hill reported.
In November of 2022 President Biden had said payments would resume either 60 days after the Supreme Court rules on his student loan forgiveness plan — which would permanently eliminate some debt — or 60 days after June 30 when the court’s term ends, whichever came first.