Education Secretary Cardona: Decision on student loan relief expected 'before the end of the month'

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Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona promised Americans that the Biden administration will announce a decision on whether they will extend their suspension of student loans in less than two weeks.

In an appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Cardona boasted that the administration has already provided $32 billion in loan cancellations since President Biden took office.

"We’re not slowing down, we want to make sure that college is more accessible and more affordable for Americans across the country," Cardona said.

The current moratorium on federal student loan payments is set to expire on August 31. With schools starting up again in the coming days and weeks, host Margaret Brennan asked if the administration has made a decision whether to extend it further.

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"I don’t have a decision for you today," Cardona said, "but what I will tell you that daily we’re having conversations about this, and the American folks will hear before the end of the month."

Cardona did discuss debt relief for teachers, and how loan forgiveness for public service workers is continuing.

WILMINGTON, DE - DECEMBER 23: Miguel Cardona speaks after President-Elect Joe Biden announced his nomination for Education Secretary at the Queen theatre on December 23, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

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"We provided a waiver for one year to widen the net of people that can take advantage of that," Cardona said, urging viewers to see if they are eligible by checking studentaid.gov.

"If you’re a public servant and you’ve worked ten years, you should have your loans forgiven. We want to make the process simpler, but we’re also focusing on making sure the loan forgiveness that we’re providing goes to those folks who have been taken advantage of by their institutions," Cardona said.

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Republicans have been critical of pushes to cancel student loans or pause payments. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., wrote in a June FoxNews.com opinion piece that loan forgiveness "will lead to more inflation-filled deficit spending and the removal of any incentive for schools and students to practice financial responsibility."

 At the same time, Foxx noted, "the federal government is handing out $100 billion in new loans to over 8 million students without reforming this broken system."