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Biden Administration Forgives $6 Billion in Student Loans for Public Service Workers
(CTN News) – According to a statement from the Biden administration, around $6 billion in student loans will be forgiven Thursday for almost 80,000 public service professionals, including teachers, nurses, and firefighters.
“These public service workers have dedicated their careers to serving their communities, but because of past administrative failures, never got the relief they were entitled to under the law,” the statement went on to say.
“Because of the fixes my Administration has made, we have now cancelled student debt for over 870,000 public service workers — compared to only about 7,000 public service borrowers ever receiving forgiveness prior to my Administration.”
The White House announced that the president will send an email to the 78,000 borrowers who are eligible for this forgiveness next week. Thousands of other participants in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program will be alerted by email if they are within two years of having their debt forgiven.
Biden has recently announced many initiatives to reduce or abolish student debt. It comes as the president travels the country promoting his economic record and continuous message to voters about cost-cutting.
“From day one of my Administration, I promised to fix broken student loan programs and make sure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden said in a statement.
“I won’t back down from using every tool at my disposal to deliver student debt relief to more Americans, and build an economy from the middle out and bottom up.”
ORIGINAL STORY: Biden Announces $5B Student Loan Forgiveness for 74K Borrowers, Targeting Public Service Workers
President Joe Biden stated on Friday that his government would cancel roughly $5 billion in student loans, affecting approximately 74,000 borrowers.
The majority of the forgiveness goes to 44,000 borrowers who have spent more than ten years in public service as teachers, nurses, firefighters, and other positions, while the remaining 30,000 borrowers have been in repayment for at least 20 years without receiving relief, according to the White House.
“From day one of my administration, I vowed to improve the student loan system so that a higher education provides Americans with opportunity and prosperity — not unmanageable burdens of student loan debt,” Biden said in a statement. “I won’t back down from using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams.”
Biden’s Ongoing Efforts: Multiple Waves of Student Debt Relief Unveiled
The relief for public service workers builds on October’s efforts to make permanent changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness programme, making it easier for workers in education, healthcare, the military, law enforcement, and other fields to receive forgiveness after making on-time payments for ten years.
Following the Supreme Court’s rejection of Biden’s overall debt reduction plan, the Biden administration announced several rounds of student loan relief in various ways.
“We are continuing to pursue an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible,” Biden said in a statement. “I won’t back down from using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams.”
Last week, the Education Department announced that it would begin cancelling student loans ahead of schedule for debtors enrolled in its Saving on a Valuable Education programme. That strategy targeted borrowers who had been paying for at least ten years and whose initial loans totaled $12,000 or less.
The SAVE plan was formed last year to replace the Revised Pay As You Earn Plan, which had been found unlawful by the US Supreme Court.
