Biden again extends pause in federal student loan payments

President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced another extension in the pause in federal student loan payments -- this time until Aug. 31.

This delay would be the sixth extension to the program in the two years of the pandemic and it comes less than a month before payments were scheduled to restart on May 1, potentially affecting millions of borrowers who have not been making payments.

"As I recognized in recently extending the COVID-19 national emergency, we are still recovering from the pandemic and the unprecedented economic disruption it caused," Biden said in a statement.

"If loan payments were to resume on schedule in May, analysis of recent data from the Federal Reserve suggests that millions of student loan borrowers would face significant economic hardship, and delinquencies and defaults could threaten Americans’ financial stability," he said.

Congressional Democrats have pressured Biden to either extend the pause or cancel student loan debt -- and the new extended freeze until in August will end right before the midterm elections in November, ensuring that student loan debt will be raised in races around the country.

Biden's latest move on the issue is getting mixed reviews from progressive Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who criticized the administration for the continuing uncertainty borrowers have been experiencing.

Ocasio-Cortez is not the only Democrat who has called on Biden to simply eliminate all student debt.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., tweeted on Tuesday that Biden needs to go further.

Biden pledged to approve $10,000 in student loan forgiveness for every federal borrower during his campaign, but he has yet to do so.