The Biden administration has announced another $4.28 billion in student loan relief, helping nearly 55,000 public service workers. This latest move brings the total debt forgiven under President Joe Biden’s leadership to about $180 billion, benefiting almost 5 million Americans.
The move is aimed at those who are enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) programme, which wipes out student debt for people in jobs like teaching, nursing, and firefighting after they’ve made 10 years of payments.
President Biden assured that changes have been made to the programme after years of poor management left many eligible workers without the relief they were entitled to.
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,” he said in a statement.
So far, more than 1 million PSLF borrowers have had around $78 billion in debt cancelled as part of the administration’s efforts.
Biden further stressed his commitment to making higher education a way to build a better future.
“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,” he said.
“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.”