Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called on President Joe Biden on Sunday to suspend student loan interest payments for 12 months as part of the “on-ramp” period when payments are set to resume.
“I would like to see interest payments suspended during this time, especially during that 12-month ramp-up period,” Ocasio-Cortez told CNN’s State of the Union. “There are millions of people in this country that have student loan debt under — student loan debt amounts under $10,000 or $20,000, as outlined in the plan.”
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“People should not be incurring interest during this 12-month on-ramp period,” she continued. “So, I highly urge the administration to consider suspending those interest payments.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments were in response to the Supreme Court‘s decision on Friday deeming Biden’s student debt relief program — which would wipe away an estimated $400 billion in student debt by canceling $10,000 of federal student loans for borrowers making under $125,000 annually and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients — as unconstitutional.
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The decision comes as a nearly three-year moratorium on student loan payments will soon end. Interest will start accruing again on Sept. 1, with payments due beginning in October.
Biden responded to the news with a new plan to ease the burden of student debt to borrowers, which includes an “on-ramp” repayment program for those who may miss payments that removes the threat of default or harm to credit ratings for 12 months. The president said he would direct the Department of Education not to refer borrowers who miss payments to collection agencies or credit bureaus for this one-year period.
