Biden-Harris Administration Announces Nearly $5 Billion in Additional Student Debt Relief
The Biden-Harris Administration announced today the approval of an additional $4.8 billion in student loan debt relief for 80,300 borrowers. These discharges stem from fixes made by the U.S. Department of Education to income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
Today’s announcement brings the total approved debt cancellation by the Biden-Harris Administration to nearly $132 billion for more than 3.6 million Americans.
“Before President Biden took office, it was virtually impossible for eligible borrowers to access the student debt relief they rightfully earned,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “The data released today once again make clear that the Biden-Harris Administration’s relentless efforts to fix the broken student loan system are paying off in a big way, with more than 3.6 million borrowers now approved for nearly $132 billion in loan forgiveness. This level of debt relief is unparalleled and we have no intention of slowing down.”
Today’s debt relief approvals are in two categories:
- $2.2 billion for nearly 46,000 borrowers through fixes to IDR that will provide borrowers with an accurate count of progress toward forgiveness and address longstanding concerns with misuse of forbearance. Including today’s numbers, the Biden-Harris Administration has now approved almost $44 billion in IDR relief for nearly 901,000 borrowers.
- $2.6 billion for 34,400 borrowers through PSLF. This includes borrowers who have benefited through the limited PSLF waiver and ongoing regulatory improvements to the programs. This brings total relief through PSLF up to $53.5 billion for almost 750,000 borrowers since October 2021. By contrast, only about 7,000 borrowers had received forgiveness through these programs at the start of the Biden-Harris Administration.
h/t Coastie Patriot