Student loan borrowers rip Biden’s extension: ‘It’s very unfair’
By Kristen Altus
Student loan borrowers are speaking out against President Biden’s recent extension of a freeze on student debt payments, calling it a partisan and unfair move by the administration.
State University of New York in Albany graduate Matthew Noyes said that after finishing school in 2018, he paid off $27,000 worth of debt in just 11 months by making daily sacrifices like not eating out and even changing his work commute.
“I think it’s very unfair and not just to me, but it’s especially unfair to blue-collar workers, people who decided to go into the trades, people who chose to serve in the military so that they could have their college paid for,” Noyes told FOX Business’ Lydia Hu. “I think it’s really unfair.”
Frustration even extends to those still actively paying off their federal student loans, including Kent State University graduate Leandra Westbrook, who picked up a job as a food delivery driver and cut back on travel.
“I knew what I set myself up for when I was taking out these loans. It’s something that I committed to,” Westbrook explained. “You wouldn’t sign a mortgage for a house and not pay your mortgage.”
The White House said Wednesday the Biden administration would be pausing requirements for student debt payments through Aug. 31 of this year. Biden said in a statement the U.S. is “still recovering” from the years-long coronavirus pandemic, necessitating further leniency on loan payments.
However, the pause doesn’t go as far as some progressives would like. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., tweeted for Biden to instead cancel all federal student loan repayments. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., agreed, tweeting that “we should cancel them.”
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