(Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Education said on Monday it will resume collecting federal student repayments from borrowers in default from May 5 after a pause of more than five years.
The resumption will impact more than 5 million borrowers who are in default, the Education Department said in a statement, adding that another 4 million borrowers were late in making payments.
Student loan collections were paused in 2020 as a way to provide relief during economic uncertainty stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
All borrowers in default will receive email communications from the Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid over the next 2 weeks, the department said. It will begin sending notices later this summer to start wage garnishment for those in default.
Attempts at providing student debt relief were made often by the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden, who received criticism from Republicans, including President Donald Trump for it. Biden’s student loan forgiveness policies also faced setbacks from the courts during his term.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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