Student loan servicing contractors for the federal government are being told to hold off on sending out billing statements as the Aug. 31 deadline looms for when a loan payment freeze of more than two years is set to end, according to a report.
Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, said the Education Department told loan servicers not to send out notices about resuming payments as the Biden administration weighs forgiving billions of dollars in federal student loans.
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“The situation is that we’re almost 30 days away from the planned resumption, and the department has been telling servicers to hold off on resumption communications for the last few months,” Buchanan told the Wall Street Journal. “Maybe the department expects that the White House will yet again kick the can down the road.”
A spokesperson for the Education Department told the outlet that it would be communicating directly to borrowers about ending the pause “when a decision is made.”
Federal student loan payments have been halted since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A freeze on payments has been extended six times, twice under President Donald Trump and four times under President Joe Biden.
Biden has yet to make a final decision on student loan forgiveness, but some proposals have suggested he is considering expunging at least $10,000 per borrower. That number is significantly lower than the $50,000 in student debt forgiveness that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) have proposed.
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Borrowers will receive a billing statement or other notice at least 21 days before their payment is due after the payment pause ends, according to Federal Student Aid.
