President Joe Biden has announced the cancellation of nearly $6 billion in federal student debt for 78,000 public service workers.
The eligible public service workers include teachers, nurses, and firefighters.
The big picture: The cancellation is a result of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs, which allow eligible borrowers to have their remaining debt forgiven after making a certain number of payments and working for approved employers.
- Biden already canceled around $5 billion in debt for 74,000 public-sector borrowers earlier this year.
- In total, the White House has approved nearly $144 billion in federal loan forgiveness for approximately 4 million borrowers.
What we’re watching: Starting next week, about 380,000 borrowers will receive emails notifying them that they are on track to have their student debt canceled within two years.
What they’re saying: “These public service workers have dedicated their careers to serving their communities, but because of past administrative failures, never got the relief they were entitled to under the law,” Biden said in a statement.
- “From day one of my Administration, I promised to fix broken student loan programs and make sure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity. I won’t back down from using every tool at my disposal to deliver student debt relief to more Americans, and build an economy from the middle out and bottom up.”
