Briahna Joy Gray, former national press secretary for Sen. Bernie Sanders‘s (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential campaign, says the Biden administration extended the pause on student loans “because they don’t know how to restart the payments.”
President Biden on Wednesday extended the pandemic moratorium on federal student loan payments and interest accrual, which was set to lapse on May 1, until August 31. He said the extension was due to the lingering effects of the pandemic on the country and economy.
“My understanding is that the real reason that the student loan pause keeps getting extended is because the services are in disarray,” Gray said on Hill.TV’s “Rising” Wednesday, noting two federal loan servicers have left the program.
The government is concerned about missing paperwork and the inability to bill people for their loans, Gray claimed.
“So while this might be framed as a benevolent gift from our government, at the end of the day, we are getting a gift but it’s basically because they don’t know how to restart the payments,” she said.
The latest extension comes as Biden is facing pressure from borrowers and Democrats for a broad cancellation of student debt. Biden was one of a number of Democratic presidential candidates in 2020 to call for widespread cancellation of federal student loans.