Student loan debt collection on pause in California due to coronavirus, Gavin Newsom says

Have student loan debt? You’re about to get a break on paying it back.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that 21 of the 24 largest student loan servicers have agreed to a 90-day forebearance of loan repayment collection. This comes about as an effort led by Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker, Newsom said.

During that period, loan servicers won’t charge late fees, fines or put down bad credit marks for student loan holders.

Debt was a major topic of Newsom’s Thursday coronavirus press conference.

The governor also announced that many Californians who had their federal stimulus checks garnished by debt collectors can expect to get them back.

Newsom said that he signed an executive order prohibiting most debt collectors from garnishing such checks, and that the order is effective immediately and retroactive.

“Now is not the time to garnish those emergency contribution checks,” the governor said.

Newsom carved out an exception for three cases: People who owe child support, spousal support or crime victim compensation.

California’s governor also offered strong words for Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell at his press conference. Newsom was asked to respond to remarks the Senate Majority Leader made that he favors states struggling with coronavirus costs going bankrupt, rather than giving them a federal bailout.

Newsom said he was responding for “the heroes that have been recognized in this crisis,” from police officers to health care workers.

“On behalf of all of them, hundreds of thousands if not millions, let me just say his comments were offensive,” Newsom said.

He said that states are laboratories of democracy, while cities are laboratories of innovation.

“If you care about democracy and innovation, you care about states, you care about cities,” he said. “I hope and expect he’ll take back his comments.”

This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 1:45 PM.