President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday announced another $4.28 billion in student loan relief for nearly 55,000 public service workers.
The ad said the total loan forgiveness provided by the Biden administration is “about $180 billion for nearly 5 million Americans,” according to a Department of Education fact sheet.
The forgiveness will be given to people enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which allows for debt forgiveness in jobs like firefighting, nursing and teaching after 10 years of continuous payments.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, at the Delaware Air National Guard Base in New Castle, Del.
Ben Curtis/AP
The Biden administration has made repairs to this program that failed to provide student loan assistance to many because of poor implementation and mistakes in the program, officials said.
“Public servants approved for debt cancellation today include teachers, nurses, service members, law enforcement officers and other public service workers who have dedicated their lives to giving back to their communities and are finally getting the relief they are entitled to under the law,” he said. Biden said in a statement.
Of the nearly 5 million loans the administration has written off more than $180 billion in debt, more than a million have been through PSLF. The relief for those PSLF borrowers is about $78 billion, the administration said.
President Joe Biden speaks during a Hanukkah reception in the East Room of the White House, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Washington.
Rod Lamkey/AP
“From day one of my Administration, I made sure that higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden said in a statement.
He added, “Thanks to our actions, millions of people across the country are breathing new life into starting businesses, saving for retirement and moving forward with life plans they had to put on hold because of the burden of student loan debt.”
