Student loan forgiveness: Biden cancels more debt before leaving office

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is canceling federal student loans for an additional 55,000 workers through an existing program known as Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

The Education Department’s announcement Friday targets teachers, nurses, service members, law enforcement officials and others who have reached eligibility through the program, which promises to erase loans after 10 years of working in government or nonprofit jobs.

The $4.28 billion in relief is expected to be final round of forgiveness of public service loans before President Joe Biden leaves office in January. After failing to deliver on his promise of widespread loan cancellation, Biden has instead focused on expanding loan relief through programs created before his presidency.

Under Biden, the Education Department loosened the rules for Public service loan forgivenesswho previously had one 99% rejection rate amid burdensome regulations and widespread confusion about eligibility requirements.

With the latest round of relief, Biden has now canceled an unprecedented $180 billion in federal student loans through existing programs covering 4.9 million Americans. That includes $78 billion for about 1 million borrowers through PSLF.

“From day one of my administration, I pledged to ensure that higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden said in a statement. “Because of our actions, millions of people across the country now have breathing space to start businesses, save for retirement and pursue life plans they had to put on hold because of the burden of student loan debt.”

Yet the Democrat has fell short of his goal of providing widespread relief to millions of other Americans. Biden’s first attempt at mass repeal was blocked by the Supreme Court and his second attempt remains entangled in a legal battle brought by republican states.

In October, he proposed another rule that would cancel loans for people facing various types of financial difficultiesalthough it is unlikely to take effect.

Trump has not detailed student loan plans for his second term, but on the campaign trail he called Biden’s cancellation plans illegal and “outrageous.” Republicans in Congress have criticized Biden over his cancellation work, saying it unfairly shifts the burden to taxpayers who didn’t go to college or have already repaid their loans.

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