CLEVELAND — Student loan repayments were supposed to start back up again during the first week of February, but are on pause once again. In December, the U.S. Department of Education granted the latest extension. Yet, coming up with a personal financial plan to pay off educational loans remains a worry for many Americans. 

“The country has money to bail out Wall Street over and over again, so you know, why can we not bail out our country’s young people?” asks Rachael Collyer, program director for the Ohio Student Association. 

Collyer explained that eliminating student debt is one of the organization's goals.

A report from the Education Data Initiative shows 43.4 million people in the U.S. have federal student loan debt, totaling $1.61 trillion.

“Really, the call is for President Biden to cancel student loan debt once and for all,” added Collyer. “We are excited that he has pushed back the payment pause deadline, but that’s not enough, frankly, for what this country — and young people in particular — need.”

The Education Data Initiative says the average federal student loan debt balance is $37,113.

Some of them are teachers and other public service employees. The Ohio Education Association, which represents more than 120,000 educators across the state, offers virtual workshops on the Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness Program for its members.

“Ninety-eight percent of the people who were eligible for loan forgiveness, which provides relief after 10 years of service in a public sector,  98% — under the previous administration — weren’t getting the loan forgiveness that they deserve,” stated OEA President Scott DiMauro.

DiMauro said he's pleased that President Joe Biden continued to pause payments. 
 
“It was hundreds of thousands of people taking action in order to have their voices heard by the federal government in this very meaningful way,” DiMauro emphasized.