Why America keeps delaying student-loan repayments
Bureaucratic snags and internal Democratic debates prolong a flawed policy
EMERGENCY MEASURES often outlast the crises that prompt them. So it is with federal student-loan repayments, which were suspended in March 2020 as a pandemic-relief measure. In August 2021 the Department of Education announced a “final extension” of the moratorium on payments for the $1.6trn owed to the government, to January 2022. Then, one month before that deadline, the White House announced a final, final extension, to run to the end of May 2022. Then, on the cusp of that new cut-off date, a final, final, final date was announced on April 6th. This extends the moratorium to August 31st.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Keep the change”
United States April 16th 2022
- In praise of the Internal Revenue Service
- Why America keeps delaying student-loan repayments
- Startups aim to reinvigorate local news in America
- Shootings at Brooklyn subway station
- What happens if America’s Supreme Court overturns women’s right to abortion
- Ken Paxton’s bid for re-election is a test of Texas Republicans’ values
From the April 16th 2022 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from United States
America’s bet on industrial policy starts to pay off for semiconductors
Trump will not reverse the chip subsidies, but will he reinforce them?
Most Americans think moderate drinking is fine
They are unaware of the cancer risk
Mike Johnson has his old job back, for now
But the GOP has the tightest House majority in nearly a century
When treating snakebites, American hospitals turn to zoos
The zookeeper will see you now
Los Angeles against the flames
Always vulnerable, the city is increasingly susceptible to fire
The US Army needs less good, cheaper drones to compete
It seems obvious. So what is stopping it from happening?