WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced on Friday the cancellation of nearly $4.3 billion in student loan relief for nearly 55,000 public service workers.
The announcement comes just one month before President Joe Biden leaves office. President-elect Donald Trump is unlikely to continue Biden’s student-debt relief efforts and could end some of the programs he put in place.
The move brings the total student debt relief to “approximately $180 billion for nearly 5 million Americans,” according to a fact sheet from the Department of Education.
“From Day One of my Administration, I promised to make sure that higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden said in a statement. “Because of our actions, millions of people across the country now have the breathing room to start businesses, save for retirement, and pursue life plans they had to put on hold because of the burden of student loan debt.”
The forgiveness will be for those enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF), which allows debt forgiveness for individuals in jobs like firefighting, nursing, and teaching after 10 years of continuous payment.
“The public servants approved for debt cancellation today include teachers, nurses, service members, law enforcement officials, and other public service workers who have dedicated their lives to giving back to their communities and who are finally earning the relief they are entitled to under the law,” Biden said in a statement.
Biden’s original student loan forgiveness program was struck down by the Supreme Court last summer, and his alternate plan for debt relief is now in court following legal challenges from Republican-led states.
Over 8 million borrowers are enrolled in the SAVE plan — Biden’s income-driven repayment plan intended to make monthly payments cheaper with a shorter timeline to forgiveness — are waiting for a ruling to decide if the plan can move forward.
