WASHINGTON D.C. — President Biden has officially announced another extension of the pause on federal student loan repayments for millions of borrowers nationwide.

The repayments were set to restart May 1, but the pause has been extended through August 31.

Biden said that while the economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, people still need help.

“If loan payments were to resume on schedule in May,” Biden said, “analysis of recent data from the Federal Reserve suggests that millions of student loan borrowers would face significant economic hardship, and delinquencies and defaults could threaten Americans’ financial stability.”

Biden also said that the Department of Education will be working to improve student loan programs ahead of the August 31 deadline to better prepare Americans for repayments.

“I’m asking all student loan borrowers to work with the Department of Education to prepare for a return to repayment,” he said. “Look into Public Service Loan Forgiveness and explore other options to lower their payments.”

The pause was first put into place in March 2020 by former President Trump at the start of the pandemic.