Current:Home > ScamsBiden administration forgives another $1.2 billion in student loans. Here's who qualifies. -Dynamic Money Growth
Biden administration forgives another $1.2 billion in student loans. Here's who qualifies.
View
Date:2025-04-17 22:38:24
The Biden administration on Thursday said it is forgiving $1.2 billion in student debt for 35,000 borrowers who work in public service, ranging from teachers to firefighters. The announcement marks the latest round in government loan relief after the Supreme Court last year blocked President Joe Biden's plan for broad-based college loan forgiveness.
With the latest student loan forgiveness, the Biden administration said it has waived $168.5 billion in debt for roughly 4.8 million Americans, according to a statement from the Department of Education. That represents about 1 in 10 student loan borrowers, it added.
The people who qualify for forgiveness in the latest round of debt cancellation are part of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which is designed to help public servants such as teachers, nurses and law enforcement officers get their debt canceled after 10 years of repayments. While PSLF has been around since 2007, until recently very few borrowers were able to get debt relief due to its notoriously complex regulations and often misleading guidance from loan companies.
But the Biden administration has overhauled the program's rules, enabling more public servants 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," U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in the statement.
Who qualifies for loan forgiveness?
The Biden administration said borrowers receiving student loan relief in this latest round are people enrolled in the PSLF program through a limited waiver, as well as regulatory changes made by the administration.
The "limited Public Service Loan Forgiveness waiver" was designed by the Biden administration to allow public-sector workers to apply to receive credit for past repayments that hadn't previously qualified for loan relief. The deadline for signing up for the waiver was October 2022.
"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," President Joe Biden said in a statement. [B]ecause of the fixes we made to Public Service Loan Forgiveness, they will now have more breathing room to support themselves and their families."
Is the Biden administration planning more debt forgiveness?
Yes, the Biden administration said it continues to work on a plan for broad-based student loan relief through the Higher Education Act.
Some parts of the Biden administration's plans to provide more relief were thrown into turmoil last month when two courts issued temporary injunctions against the Biden administration's flagship student loan repayment plan, called the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan, which currently has about 8 million enrollees.
Despite the injunctions, student borrowers can still continue to enroll in the program, according to the Education Department.
- In:
- Biden Administration
- Student Debt
- Student Loans
Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.
TwitterveryGood! (3465)
Related
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- Inside Clean Energy: Here’s How Compressed Air Can Provide Long-Duration Energy Storage
- Will Kim Cattrall Play Samantha Again After And Just Like That Cameo? She Says..
- First Republic Bank shares plummet, reigniting fears about U.S. banking sector
- Trump's 'stop
- Kyle Richards and Mauricio Umansky Break Up After 27 Years of Marriage
- Proteger a la icónica salamandra mexicana implíca salvar uno de los humedales más importantes del país
- New Study Identifies Rapidly Emerging Threats to Oceans
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- Should EPA Back-Off Pollution Controls to Help LNG Exports Replace Russian Gas in Germany?
Ranking
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- Amazon Reviewers Keep Coming Back to Shop These Cute, Comfy & On-Sale Summer Pants
- Everything We Know About the It Ends With Us Movie So Far
- Why Sarah Jessica Parker Was Upset Over Kim Cattrall's AJLT Cameo News Leak
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- In North Carolina Senate Race, Global Warming Is On The Back Burner. Do Voters Even Care?
- Two US Electrical Grid Operators Claim That New Rules For Coal Ash Could Make Electricity Supplies Less Reliable
- Love Island’s Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti Break Up
Recommendation
Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
The U.S. economy is losing steam. Bank woes and other hurdles are to blame.
Activists Laud Biden’s New Environmental Justice Appointee, But Concerns Linger Over Equity and Funding
ESPN announces layoffs as part of Disney's moves to cut costs
Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
A tobacco giant will pay $629 million for violating U.S. sanctions against North Korea
The economics of the influencer industry
Inside Clean Energy: For Offshore Wind Energy, Bigger is Much Cheaper