On Thursday, President Biden’s administration shared that it was moving forward with another $1.2 billion in student loan forgiveness, impacting approximately 35,000 borrowers who work in public service.
The new plan from Biden’s team will include forgiveness for teachers, firefighters, nurses, police officers, and anyone else who works in the public sector. Borrowers affected are part of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which is already designed to help public servants.
“These 35,000 borrowers approved for forgiveness today are public service workers — teachers, nurses, law enforcement officials, and first responders who have dedicated their lives to strengthening their communities,” Biden said.
The current program sees public-sector workers have their debts forgiven after 10 years of repayments. However, the program is said to be complex, with several regulations and misleading guidance that have often made it difficult for many to actually receive forgiveness.
But now, US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona says that the program is getting overhauled, and more public servants will be able to qualify for forgiveness.
“The additional Americans approved for PSLF today are hardworking public servants who will finally receive the financial breathing room they were promised — and all PSLF recipients can easily track and manage the process through StudentAid.gov,” Cardona said in the statement.
Now, those enrolled in the PSLF program will be offered forgiveness through a limited waiver. The program will also see several regulatory changes.
Biden says that with the change, public servants will “now have more breathing room to support themselves and their families.”
The latest round of student debt forgiveness adds to the Biden administration’s $168.5 billion waived for roughly 4.8 million Americans, or around 1 in 10 borrowers, the Department of Education shared in a statement.