Biden Administration Relieves $6 Billion in Student Debt for 78,000 Public Service Workers

By Thea Felicity

Mar 21 2024, 10:58 AM EDT

The Biden administration has discharged an additional $6 billion in student debt for over 78,000 public service workers, per Yahoo. Since President Biden took office, more than $62.5 billion in student loan debt has been forgiven for nearly 871,000 public service workers.

Biden Administration's Eligibility For Service Loan Forgiveness

Under the public service loan forgiveness (PSLF) program, teachers, nurses, firefighters, social workers, and other public servants, including military personnel, are eligible for debt relief. This recent discharge brings the total debt relief under PSLF to $62.5 billion for 871,000 borrowers since October 2021.

Previously, during the Donald Trump Administration, only a tiny fraction of PSLF borrowers received forgiveness, with around 7,000 beneficiaries. But now, thanks to reforms and streamlining efforts, the number of eligible borrowers has surged.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona emphasized the importance of this initiative from the Biden Administration. "For too long, our nation's public servants faced logistical troubles and barriers accessing the debt relief they were entitled to under the law. Today, more than 100 times more borrowers are eligible for PSLF than there were at the beginning of the administration."

The White House has also announced plans to notify an additional 380,000 public service loan forgiveness borrowers of their eligibility for discharge within the next two years. However, the specific amount of debt has not been disclosed yet.

Besides student doubt, the PSLF program extends to various professions, including military service members who don't qualify for other military loan forgiveness programs. In 2022, Joe Biden also implemented a simplified application process, making it more accessible to borrowers.

With this latest round of debt forgiveness, the Biden administration continues its commitment to easing the burden of student loans. To date, they have forgiven a staggering $143.6 billion in student loan debt for 3.96 million borrowers. Doing so addressed income-driven repayment plans, total and permanent disabilities, and instances of school fraud.

In a recent update by VCPost, Joe Biden took pride in canceling student debts and improving public service loan forgiveness, although he was met with online hounding for doing his job as a president.