CFA joined 127 organizations in a letter to President Biden urging him to extend the pause on student loan payments, slated to end on October 1, 2021. The groups urged that the pause continue until the administration has delivered on the promises the President made to student loan borrowers to fix the broken student loan system and cancel federal student debt. The U.S. Department of Education holds $1.4 trillion in federal student loans, making the United States one of the largest holders of consumer debt in the world.

Payments on these loans have been paused since March 2020, during which time interest charges have also been suspended and the federal government has halted collection efforts against borrowers in default. The student loan payment pause has been one of the most important investments the federal government has made in Americans’ financial lives in a generation—a recognition that the inadequacies of the existing student loan safety net could not protect families in the midst of an economic and public health crisis.