Student loan announcement to come in ‘next week or so,’ Education secretary says ahead of deadline

(CNN) — US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Sunday that Americans can expect a decision from the Biden administration on student loans in the “next week or so” as a pause on federal student loan payments is set to expire on August 31.

With some 10 days to go, Americans have been left guessing whether President Joe Biden will extend the current moratorium or, perhaps, forgive some of their debt. 

“We’ve been talking daily about this, and I can tell you the American people will hear within the next week or so from the President and the Department of Education on what we’re going to be doing around that,” Cardona told NBC’s Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press.”

He did not elaborate on the details, saying he would not get ahead of the announcement.

“I don’t have any news to announce today,” he said.

The White House has previously said that Biden will have something to announce ahead of the August 31 deadline.

Payments have not been required on most federal student loans since March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the US, greatly affecting the economy.

Biden has extended the pause four times, most recently in April, arguing that it was necessary to allow federal student loan borrowers to get back on their feet.

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers and advocates have been urging Biden to broadly cancel up to $50,000 in student loan debt per borrower, but the President has consistently pushed back on canceling that much.

Along with potentially extending the pause, the White House has suggested Biden is considering canceling $10,000 per borrower, excluding those who earn more than $125,000 a year — something he had campaigned on in 2020.

Biden has canceled more student loan debt than any other president, with his administration authorizing the cancellation of nearly $32 billion in loans largely for borrowers who were defrauded by their for-profit colleges and for permanently disabled borrowers.