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FACT BRIEF

Did pausing student loan repayments cost $5 billion per month?

By Tom Kertscher
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YES

Summarizing an analysis by the nonpartisan nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Education Next reported, "The pause of collections on loans, interest, and defaults costs $5 billion per month" — the same amount the U.S. Education Department said was saved by about 40 million student loan borrowers.

Student loan repayments were first paused by the Trump administration in March 2020 because of the pandemic. The Biden administration ordered more pauses.

On June 3, 2023, President Biden signed legislation raising the federal debt ceiling that prevents him from extending the pause past the end of the summer, when it's set to expire.

Federal student loans are made by the government. Interest did not accrue on these loans during the pause, but continued to on private student loans issued by financial institutions and schools.

Forty-five million Americans collectively owe $1.6 trillion in federal student loans, according to the New York Times.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Education Next Student Loan Payment Pause Benefits High-Income Households the Most
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Student Loan Pause Could Cost $275 Billion
US Department of Education Biden-Harris Administration Extends Student Loan Pause Through May 1, 2022
New York Times What the Debt Ceiling Deal Means for Student Loan Payments
Federal Student Aid Federal Student Aid
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.