Reuters
Updated Thu, October 17, 2024
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday canceled another $4.5 billion in student debt for more than 60,000 borrowers, bringing the number of public service workers who have had their student loans for higher education forgiven to over 1 million.
The cancellation is Biden's latest effort to fulfill his 2020 campaign pledge to deliver debt relief to millions of Americans before he leaves office in January, even as his efforts hit road blocks in the courts.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, a fellow Democrat who is seeking the White House after Biden stepped aside and faces Republican Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 contest, said she would continue to address education costs if elected, including through relief for those who utilized federal student loans.
"While Republican elected officials do everything in their power to block millions of their own constituents from receiving this much needed economic relief, I will continue our work to lower costs, make higher education more affordable, and relieve the burden of student debt," Harris said in a statement.
Wednesday's action brings the Biden-Harris Administration's total approved student loan relief to $175 billion for nearly 5 million borrowers, the White House said in a statement.
It has called the current student loan system broken and maintains debt relief is needed to ensure that borrowers are not financially burdened by their decision to seek higher education.
Harris has centered her election campaign in part on her economic plans aimed at lowering living costs for middle- and lower-class Americans and boosting the economy overall, while Trump has focused on tariffs and tax cuts.
Republicans have described Biden's student loan forgiveness approach as an overreach of authority and an unfair benefit to college-educated borrowers while others receive no such relief.
Six Republican state attorneys general have challenged Biden's plan, saying it is up to Congress to act through legislation. Earlier this month, a U.S. judge appointed by former president Trump temporarily blocked Biden from "mass canceling" student loans until their lawsuit is resolved.
Biden had to revamp his approach after earlier plans were blocked by the courts. In August, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to revive Biden's latest plan, giving a boost to Republicans seeking to block it.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington and Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Sharon Singleton)
4.8M borrowers — including 1M in public service — have had student debt forgiven, Biden admin says
Rebecca Shabad and Caroline Kenny
Thu, October 17, 2024
President Joe Biden in Madison, Wis., on April 8.
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced a milestone Thursday in its effort to cancel Americans' student debt: It has provided relief to more than 1 million borrowers who work in public service.
Through the Education Department's Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, the administration approved about $4.5 million in additional student loan relief for more than 60,000 borrowers, bringing the total relief through that program to $74 million for more than 1 million people.
That brings the total amount of student debt relief under the administration to $175 billion for more than 4.8 million borrowers over the nearly four years President Joe Biden has been in office, the department said.
The Education Department said that before Biden's presidency, only 7,000 public servants had ever received student debt relief through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The program was previously "riddled by dysfunction," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement, adding that "countless public servants were trapped making payments on debts that should have been forgiven."
Cardona added that "pursuing a career in public service is not only a noble calling but a reliable pathway to becoming debt-free within a decade."
"Think about it, 7,000 to 1 million," Cardona told reporters on a call Wednesday previewing the announcement. "That’s an increase of more than 14,000% in less than four years. Let me say that again: We grew the number of public servants earning forgiveness by 14,000%."
Those who qualify for the program include nurses, social workers, teachers, first responders, service members and other public servants.
The Education Department explained that the program was previously managed by a single specialty loan servicer, but now it's entirely managed by the department, which it said makes "it easier for borrowers to participate in program."
The milestone comes after the administration has faced legal challenges to a number of its student debt relief proposals and roadblocks put up by court rulings. The Supreme Court, for example, ruled last year that the administration’s original student debt forgiveness program couldn't take effect. That plan would have benefited 43 million borrowers by canceling up to $20,000 in debt, potentially costing more than $400 billion.
In a statement Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris celebrated the administration's student loan relief efforts, saying that "while Republican elected officials do everything in their power to block millions of their own constituents from receiving this much needed economic relief, I will continue our work to lower costs, make higher education more affordable, and relieve the burden of student debt. I am fully committed to doing what is necessary to build an economy that works for every American."
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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