Biden Administration announces $1.2B more in student debt forgiveness

By Stacy M. Brown
Contributing Writer

(NNPA Newswire) — On Thursday, July 18, the Biden administration announced the forgiveness of $1.2 billion in student debt for 35,000 public service workers, including teachers, nurses, and firefighters. The announcement is part of a broader effort to provide loan relief following the Supreme Court’s decision last year to block President Joe Biden’s plan for widespread college loan forgiveness, and former President Donald Trump and his Republican ally’s opposition to assisting students, the poor, and the middle class. Ironically, Trump is seeking relief from a $500 million business fraud judgment handed down earlier this year in New York.

According to the Department of Education, this latest round of forgiveness brings the total debt relief under the Biden administration to $168.5 billion, benefiting approximately 4.8 million Americans. This represents about one in ten student loan borrowers.

The beneficiaries of this round of debt cancellation are participants in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Established in 2007, the PSLF program aims to help public servants, such as teachers, nurses, and law enforcement officers, have their debt canceled after ten years of repayment. In the past, the program has struggled with confusing instructions and complicated regulations, which has reduced its effectiveness. However, the Biden administration has reformed the PSLF program’s rules, making it easier for public servants to qualify for forgiveness.

“The additional Americans approved for PSLF today are hardworking public servants who will finally receive the financial breathing room they were promised – and all PSLF recipients can easily track and manage the process through StudentAid.gov,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona stated in the announcement.

The administration also highlighted that this forgiveness includes individuals enrolled in the PSLF program through a limited waiver and regulatory changes. The Biden administration introduced the limited PSLF waiver, which allowed public-sector workers to receive credit for prior repayments that were not previously eligible for loan relief. The deadline for this waiver was October 2022.

Despite setbacks, including temporary injunctions against the administration’s flagship student loan repayment plan, the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, and the Supreme Court’s rejection of a previous debt forgiveness plan, the Biden administration remains committed to student loan relief. Borrowers can still enroll in the program, the Education Department has confirmed.

President Joe Biden emphasized the administration’s achievements over the past three years, including increasing the maximum Pell Grant, fixing income-driven repayment plans, and holding colleges accountable for exploiting students and families. “From day one of my administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity. I will never stop working to make higher education affordable – no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us,” Biden said.

“Today, my administration is canceling student debt for 35,000 people through Public Service Loan Forgiveness, bringing the total number of Americans who have benefitted from our various debt relief actions to 4.76 million people,” President Biden stated. “These 35,000 borrowers are public service workers who have dedicated their lives to strengthening their communities. Because of the fixes we made to Public Service Loan Forgiveness, they will now have more breathing room to support themselves and their families.”

The Biden administration said it continues to work on a plan for broad-based student loan relief through the Higher Education Act, aiming to provide more relief to millions of borrowers despite legal and political challenges.

This article originally published in the July 22, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.