Biden Approves $4.9 Billion in Student Loan Debt Relief for 73,600 Borrowers

A total of 73,600 student loan borrowers will benefit from the Biden-Harris administration’s decision to approve $4.9 billion in additional student loan debt relief, the US Department of Education has announced.

According to a press release issued by the Department on January 19, this brings the total amount of loan forgiven by Biden to $136.6 billion for over 3.7 million US borrowers, Erudera.com reports.

Commenting on the move, the US Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, said that the Biden-Harris administration has been determined to fix the “broken student loan system” in the United States and address the difficulties that in the past have kept borrowers from receiving the relief they deserved.

“Thanks to President Biden’s leadership, we’re approving this loan forgiveness while moving full speed ahead in our efforts to deliver even greater debt relief, and help more borrowers get on a faster track to loan forgiveness under our new, affordable SAVE repayment plan,” he added.

Cardona said that, from the amount, approximately $5 billion in additional debt relief will be allocated to teachers, social workers, and other public servants, as well as borrowers qualifying for income-driven repayment forgiveness.

A total of $1.7 billion will go to 29,700 borrowers through administrative adjustments to income-driven repayment (IDR) and $3.2 billion to 43,900 borrowers through PSLF.

According to the release, so far, $45.7 billion in IDR relief has been approved for 930,500 borrowers, including the recent amount of $4.9 billion.

Meanwhile, since October 2021, the total relief through PSLF has reached $56.7 billion for 793,400, benefiting borrowers.

In addition to the abovementioned figures, the administration has also approved the following:

• $11.7 billion for about 513,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability
• $22.5 billion for more than 1.3 million borrowers who were defrauded by their schools, saw the closure of their institutions, or are covered by court settlements related to such circumstances.

“Today we are helping borrowers who were promised help with their loans, planned their lives around those promises, and earned forgiveness through years of payments. The Biden-Harris Administration is not going to stop until we’ve helped all of those harmed by the broken student loan system,” US Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal said.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced a fast-tracking on additional loan forgiveness through early implementation of the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan.

Under this plan, individuals who initially borrowed $12,000 or less for college and have joined the SAVE plan will qualify for forgiveness after as few as ten years of making payments.