President Joe Biden's administration announced Wednesday it would extend its student loan moratorium that has been in place since his predecessor, allowing borrowers to put off debt payments amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest action provides relief from payments through May 1, allowing interest rates to remain at 0% and temporarily suspending debt collection efforts. White House press secretary Jen Psaki initially signaled earlier this month that the moratorium would expire on Jan. 31, but that was before the latest omicron variant of COVID-19 became the most prevalent strain circulating the United States.

“We know that millions of student loan borrowers are still coping with the impacts of the pandemic and need some more time before resuming payments,” Biden said in a statement.

The president added the issue is a matter he and Vice President Kamala Harris "care deeply about" and noted financial recovery from the pandemic will take longer than job recovery, saying it would be more difficult for borrowers.

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Biden also asked loan borrowers to "do their part" to find resources through the Education Department to aid their repayment processes, such as public service loan forgiveness and income-based repayment plans.

More than 36 million borrowers are affected by the administration's decision, which collectively amounts to a debt of more than $1.37 trillion, according to data from the Education Department.

Former President Donald Trump's administration initially suspended federal loan payments in March 2020 and later extended the moratorium through January 2021. Biden has moved to continue the moratorium twice, amid calls from progressive Democrats to extend the moratorium or impose some form of mass forgiveness.

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also pressed Biden to extend the moratorium or implement a "cancellation" in a Dec. 20 tweet.

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Biden has tapped the Education Department to study the issue of debt forgiveness after he previously touted support for canceling up to $10,000 in student debt. Despite his interest in the issue, the president has questioned whether he has the authority to implement a large-scale cancellation of federal loans.