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The US Department of Education issued a press release. It says the administration of US President Joe Biden has extended its pause on student loan repayment, interest, and collections until 31^st January 2022. The department said, “It is a final extension. The additional time and a confirm date would allow borrowers to plan for the resumption of payments and reduce the risk of delinquency and defaults after restart”. The Education Department said it will provide resources and information on how to plan for resuming payments. US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued a statement and said, “The payment pause has been a lifeline that allowed millions of Americans to focus on their families, health, and finances instead of student loans during the national emergency. Our nation’s economy continues to recover from a deep hole”.

The statement added, “This final extension will give students and borrowers the time they need to plan for the restart and ensure a smooth pathway back to repayment”. Point to be noted that former President Donald Trump first enacted the payment pause in March 2020 in response to Covid-19. Biden administration extended the measure through September 2021. The CDC also announced a new 60-day eviction moratorium on Tuesday for counties experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission levels of the coronavirus. The eviction moratorium announced in March 2020 was designed to help people who’d lost a job due to lockdowns. It was initially scheduled to expire in July 2020, but was extended several times and finally expired at the end of July 2021.

President Joe Biden also paid tribute to law enforcement officers who responded to the 6^th January Capitol riot. He signed legislation to award them the Congressional Gold Medals for their best professional service. Biden thanked the officers for saved the lives of Congress members during the massive attack. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris held a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden to sign the legislation. Many officers were beaten and injured that day as the violent mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters pushed past them to break into the Capitol and interrupt the certification of Biden’s victory. Biden said, “My fellow Americans, let’s remember what this was all about. It was a violent attempt to overturn the will of the American people, to seek power at all costs, to replace the ballot with brute force”.