The Biden administration is cancelling an additional $1.2 billion in student loans for borrowers who work in public service through changes to an existing forgiveness program. The relief for roughly 35,000 borrowers was announced Thursday by the Education Department and made through changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which benefits workers such as teachers, nurses and firefighters. Those qualifying for forgiveness have their remaining loan balance eliminated after making 120 qualifying monthly payments.
Quick Read
- Student Loan Forgiveness Expansion: The Biden administration has announced the cancellation of an additional $1.2 billion in student loans for approximately 35,000 borrowers who work in public service sectors.
- Program Details: This forgiveness is part of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, originally established in 2007, which eliminates remaining loan balances after borrowers make 120 qualifying monthly payments.
- Impact and Beneficiaries: The forgiven loans benefit public service workers such as teachers, nurses, law enforcement officials, and first responders, providing financial relief and acknowledging their contributions to their communities.
- Administrative Adjustments: Changes under the Biden administration to the forgiveness program include retroactive adjustments to rules, aiming to address past issues and ensure more borrowers can benefit from the program.
- Legal and Judicial Challenges: The administration’s broader student loan forgiveness plans have faced legal challenges, including injunctions on initiatives like the SAVE plan, which aimed to lower monthly payments and expedite loan forgiveness.
- Overall Debt Forgiveness: With this latest announcement, the Biden administration has forgiven a total of $168.5 billion in student debt for 4.76 million borrowers, including significant amounts through programs like public service forgiveness.
The Associated Press has the story:
Biden administration cancels another $1.2B in student loans for public service workers
Newslooks- WASHINGTON- (AP)
The Biden administration is cancelling an additional $1.2 billion in student loans for borrowers who work in public service through changes to an existing forgiveness program. The relief for roughly 35,000 borrowers was announced Thursday by the Education Department and made through changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which benefits workers such as teachers, nurses and firefighters. Those qualifying for forgiveness have their remaining loan balance eliminated after making 120 qualifying monthly payments.
“These 35,000 borrowers approved for forgiveness today are public service workers — teachers, nurses, law enforcement officials, and first responders who have dedicated their lives to strengthening their communities, and because of the fixes we made to Public Service Loan Forgiveness, they will now have more breathing room to support themselves and their families,” Biden said in a statement.
The public service forgiveness program was created by Congress in 2007, but many borrowers were not able to get the cancellation they had worked towards due to strict rules and mistakes by loan servicers in tallying their payments. Under the Biden administration, some rules were adjusted and retroactively gave many borrowers credit toward their 10 years of payments.
The announcement comes amid legal back and forth over the administration’s larger plans for student loan forgiveness, which faces challenges from Republican-led states. In June, judges in two federal cases opposing the new SAVE plan, which included lowered monthly payments and a faster path to forgiveness, issued injunctions stopping the plan from going into effect.
But shortly after, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay in one of the lawsuits, allowing the Education Department to move ahead with lowered monthly payments. Biden’s original plan for one-time debt cancellation was overturned by the Supreme Court, which said the move overstepped the president’s authority.
With this latest round of loan cancellation, the administration has now forgiven $168.5 billion in student debt for 4.76 million borrowers, including $69.2 billion for 946,000 million borrowers through the public service forgiveness program.
