Biden Administration Has Approved $4.5 Billion In Student Loan Forgiveness

The latest round of student loan forgiveness will cancel debt for 60,000 people who have applied for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

Three weeks before the general election, the Biden administration has announced another $4.5 billion in student debt relief for more than 60,000 borrowers. The latest round of student loan forgiveness will cancel debt for 60,000 people who have applied for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

According to a news release from the White House, the move from Biden’s administration has brought the number of public service workers who have had their student loans canceled to over 1 million people during the Harris-Biden administration.

The PSLF program has had some challenges in the past. Before President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office, the administration noted that only 7,000 borrowers received forgiveness through PSLF. In some years, the rejection rate was as high as 98% due to “administrative errors and difficult processes.”

People in various public roles, including firefighters, law enforcement officials, nurses, servicemembers, and other public service workers, are eligible to apply.

“Last week, President Biden met with a kindergarten teacher who has been paying her loans for 12 years and let her know that she is one of the one million people approved for PSLF under his Administration, and over $46,000 of her loans are being canceled,” a statement reads on the White House website. “The Biden-Harris Administration has approved $175 billion in student debt relief for nearly 5 million borrowers through various actions.”

Forgiving Student Loans For Public Service Workers

The average student loan balance forgiven under PSLF is around $70,000, according to a report from CNBC.

All this comes as the Biden-Harris administration continues to face legal battles against their student loan relief efforts. The lawsuits, filed by groups in Republic-led states, argue that the U.S. Department of Education does not have the legal authority to implement debt-relief programs, as CNN points out.

By contrast, during his term, former President Donald Trump called for the elimination of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness initiative even though it was established by former Republican President George W. Bush in 2007.