Joe Biden Announces Another $4.5B Student Loan Forgiveness For 60K Borrowers A Month After Being Temporarily Blocked By US Court

Benzinga · 10/17 14:00

President Joe Biden has unveiled a new initiative to forgive $4.5 billion in student loans for over 60,000 borrowers through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. This move significantly increases the total number of public service workers benefiting from loan forgiveness under the Biden-Harris Administration to over 1 million, according to the White House.

What Happened: Before the Biden-Harris Administration, only 7,000 borrowers had received forgiveness through the PSLF program. The administration has made significant improvements to the program, allowing teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officials, nurses, and other public service workers to receive the relief they are entitled to under the law.

The administration has approved $175 billion in student debt relief for nearly 5 million borrowers through various actions. The PSLF program, enacted in 2007, aims to support public servants by providing relief on student loans for those dedicating at least 10 years to community service.

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Why It Matters: The announcement comes amid ongoing legal challenges and policy changes in the student loan landscape. In September, a U.S. District Judge temporarily blocked Biden’s latest student debt relief plan following a lawsuit by seven Republican-led states. This legal hurdle highlights the contentious nature of student debt relief efforts.

Additionally, the Biden administration’s one-year moratorium on reporting late student loan payments to credit agencies is nearing its end, affecting 9.7 million borrowers who are late on payments. The end of this protection could impact borrowers’ credit ratings, adding urgency to the administration’s debt relief measures.

Earlier in April, Biden had also announced the cancellation of over $7 million in student debt for 277,000 borrowers, primarily benefiting public sector workers. This was part of the SAVE plan, which aims to ease the financial burden on borrowers.

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari