BUFFALO, N.Y. — President Biden on Wednesday announced he's extending the pause on student loan payments yet again through August 31.
Former President Donald Trump first paused payments back in 2020, at the start of the COVID pandemic. Since then, many Americans have been trying to stay afloat.
The issue of student loan debt has been a hot button topic for a long time. President Biden campaigned on the idea of cancelling some amount of debt per borrower, but since taking office he hasn't followed through on that promise.
But some are wondering: Will another extension really fix the problem?
Alan Collinge is the founder of Student Loan Justice, a national grassroots organization that's been fighting for the cancellation of all federally owned student loans by executive action since 2005.
Collinge has spent close to two decades studying and researching the current student loan debt crisis state by state and says this latest extension is just "kicking the can."
"Extending the pause may sort of put a band-aid on this, this wound, but really, we need some real relief at this point," Collinge says. "Even before the pandemic 64.3%, nearly two thirds of all federal student loan borrowers, were not making payments on their loans. Even when you take out the people who are in school, and on a grace deferment, it's still over half."
At minimum, Collinge says bankruptcy protections must be returned to student loans. And down the line, some meaningful form of loan cancellation will be seriously in order.
Collinge tells 2 On Your Side, "If you look at the worst states in the country affected by student loan debt. It is a fist in the southeast United States. It's Florida, Georgia, North South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama."
Furthermore, Collinge said the time to end fiery partisan debates is long overdue.
"I would hope that both parties can come together at a minimum and return bankruptcy," Collinge said.
In a news release from the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona said, "The Department of Education is committed to ensuring that student loan borrowers have a smooth transition back to repayment."
The Department of Education also stated that it will help all borrowers with paused loans and they will "receive a fresh start" on repayment by eliminating the impact of delinquency and default and allowing them to reenter repayment in good standing.