March 28, 2024
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Underwood wants to extend student loan relief during pandemic

U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood introduced legislation this week aiming to extend student loan relief to borrowers as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

Underwood’s bill, the Pandemic Accommodation to Support Students, or PASS, Act would amend the COVID-19 relief bill already in place to continue the suspension of loan payments, interest accrual and involuntary collections on federal student loans, according to a news release. The relief was originally included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which was passed in March.

In August, President Donald Trump extended the duration of these provisions through an executive order, but they are set to expire Dec. 31.

The bill from Underwood, D-Naperville, would extend the federal student loan relief until Sept. 30.

“If the freeze on federal student loan payments is allowed to expire, millions of Americans could be thrown into even greater financial uncertainty, and we must use every avenue available to extend this urgently needed relief,” Underwood said in the release. “The PASS Act amends bipartisan provisions in the CARES Act to extend relief to borrowers until the economic impacts of the pandemic have subsided.”

Last week, Underwood led a group of 91 members of Congress in sending a letter to Trump to use his executive authority to further extend the relief for about 41 million federal student loan borrowers as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, also signed onto the letter.

Alex Ortiz

Alex Ortiz

Alex Ortiz is a reporter for The Herald-News in Joliet. Originally from Romeoville, Ill., he joined The Herald-News in 2017 and mostly covers Will County government, politics, education and more. He earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master's degree from Northwestern University.