ATLANTA — The pause on Federal Student Loan payments is scheduled to end on Thursday, Sept. 1. Borrowers across the country, including in Georgia, are waiting to learn if they will have to start making payments again.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre previously stated the president would make an announcement before Wednesday, Aug. 31.
Activists are pushing for the president to take action and forgive student loans for the majority of borrowers. Jayden Williams, the president of the Georgia Youth Division of the NAACP said widespread forgiveness is something he's pushing for.
"The government has shown us that it's been over 800 days, that our student loan payments have been paused, and it shows that the government does not need this money," Williams told 11Alive's Karys Belger.
The sophomore at Clark Atlanta Unversity explained the cause is personal. He's hoping for an announcement so he can plan his own next steps as he continues his academic career.
"It's kind of like, okay, 'Are they starting with student loans? Are we bringing them back? Are we just not doing it at all? Are we still adding loans to the loans we already have because we're trying to finish school?'" Williams asked.
Williams is one of the millions of borrowers waiting for a decision. The pause on federal student loans began in 2020 with the pandemic. It's been extended four times since President Biden took office.
A recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows Georgia has one of the highest median student loan balances in the country with a median balance of $21,828 per borrower as of Sunday, Aug. 14.
Recently, Williams and other activists went to Washington D.C. to protest and demand Biden do more towards student loan forgiveness. Williams argues the financial benefits will help borrowers long-term.
"Ending the repayments would help... I think it would help the families be able to build back financially credit-wise because this is a burden, this is a heavy burden," Williams said.