We Need a Payment Pause NOW!

Fight back against the Trump Administration’s attacks on student debtors by calling for an immediate pause on federal student loan payments and interest. 

Three years on from the pandemic-era pause on student loan payments, the student loan system is even more broken than before. The federal government’s many administrative failures have caused real, immediate, and irreparable harm to millions of student debtors.

• Debtors are receiving conflicting deadlines with severe consequences. Between loan servicers, StudentAid.gov, and the Department of Education, debtors are being pressured to switch out of the affordable SAVE plan to more expensive repayment options before they are legally required to do so. Switching to another repayment plan could double or even triple debtors’ monthly payments.
• Loan servicers can’t transfer accounts without making basic errors. The CFPB has found 1 of every 5 accounts transferred between servicers has missing or inaccurate payment histories, incorrect billing statements, and even lost progress towards debt cancellation. Millions of debtors cannot access accurate payment histories, delaying their progress towards loan cancellation under PSLF and IDR programs. 
• The gutted Department of Education can barely keep up. After firing more than half their staff last year, Dept. Ed has failed to respond to thousands of complaints submitted by debtors to the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA). Meanwhile, more than 530,000 debtors who applied for a new income-driven repayment plan are still waiting to be enrolled.
• The rules keep changing — leaving debtors behind. Dept. ED is asking debtors to consider unstandardized repayment plans without clarifying eligibility, ability to enroll, and payment amounts. Under the OBBBA, affordable plans like PAYE and REPAYE should be available to debtors through July 2028, but servicers are currently preventing debtors from enrolling in these plans. 

For these reasons and many more, we are calling on the Trump administration to take the following actions: 

• Pause all monthly federal student loan payments until debtors have access to complete, timely, and accurate information about their repayment options. 
• Protect debtors during the payment pause by counting months towards debt cancellation and setting the interest rate on federal student loans to 0%. 

We don’t need another bill, we need relief — from impossible monthly bills, ballooning balances, and a repayment system in constant flux. We need a payment pause NOW.

Week of Action

From August 10-15, student debtors around the nation will take collective action to pressure our elected officials to pause student debt payments and interest. We need to make our voices heard, and making this demand collectively will amplify our voices! RSVP to our upcoming events below, or read on for more ways to take action on your own time.

Call Your Members of Congress

Call your Member of Congress and demand a payment pause for all student loans and interest!

Use this database to look up your Members of Congress and their contact information. 

Use this Sample Call Script to call your Members of Congress.