WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Thursday White House approved the elimination of about $6 billion a year federal sstudent debt for thousands of public service workers.
According to the White House, the 78,000 eligible public service workers include teachers, nurses and firefighters.
“These public service workers have dedicated their careers to serving their communities, but due to past administrative failures, they have never received the relief they deserve under the law,” Biden said in a statement announcing the move.
“From day one of my administration, I pledged to fix broken student loan programs and make sure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” he said. “I will not hold back from using every tool at my disposal to free more Americans from student debt and build the economy from the middle and the bottom.”
This is the last step in student debt cancellation Public Service Loan Forgiveness programsit allows eligible borrowers to have their remaining debt forgiven if they make a certain number of payments and work for approved employers.
Management in January cancelled About $5 billion in debt to 74,000 public sector borrowers. The White House has approved nearly $144 billion in federal loan forgiveness for a total of nearly 4 million borrowers, according to the administration.
Starting next week, the White House will send an email to nearly 380,000 borrowers to let them know they are on track to have their student loans canceled within two years.
last year, Supreme Court It invalidated Biden’s broader student loan debt relief plan, arguing that it was illegal because Congress had not publicly approved the move.