WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The Biden administration on Thursday approved $4.5 billion in student debt relief for over 60,000 public workers.
Thursday’s announcement represents the total number of Americans who have had their debt forgiven under the law Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to over a million people.
The program provides debt relief for public workers such as teachers, nurses and firefighters who have paid off their loans for more than 10 years.
“From the first day of my administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” President Joe Biden said in a letter opinion. “I will never stop working to make higher education affordable – no matter how many times elected Republicans try to stop us.”
On Thursday morning, President Biden split
The program, launched in 2007, promised to forgive graduates’ student debt after working in government or nonprofit jobs for 10 years. As of 2017, the majority of applicants were rejected due to complicated admission requirements.
“But for too long, the government has failed to meet its obligations, and before Vice President Harris and I took office, only 7,000 people had ever received public service loan forgiveness,” Biden said in a statement.
In total, the program has forgiven $74 billion in loans for public employees.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan in 2023, his administration has provided loan relief through pre-existing programs such as PSLF and income-driven repayment plans.
The Biden administration says it has now cut a total of $175 billion for about five million borrowers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
