President Joe Biden announced plans on Friday to cancel student debt for about 55,000 public sector workers, as his administration pushes to zero out more people’s balances in the final weeks of his administration.
The measure, which represents the cancellation of US$4.28 billion owed in federal loans, brings to nearly 5 million the total number of people who have received aid under the Biden administration’s programs, the White House reported. In total, approximately US$180 billion has been forgiven.
“From the first day of my administration, I promised to make sure that “Higher education was an entry ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden said in a statement.
“Thanks to our actions, millions of people across the country now have leeway to start businesses, saving for retirement and pursuing life plans they had to postpone due to the burden of student loan debt.”
Alleviating the burden of student debt was a key promise of Biden’s 2020 campaign, but he ran into several legal hurdles after taking office. Last year, the Supreme Court rejected his far-reaching proposal to reduce the debt of more than 40 million people, and the president’s alternative was recently blocked in federal court, at least temporarily.
In August, a federal appeals court also temporarily suspended a separate initiative called the Save plan. That proposal was an income-based repayment plan that would allow some low-income borrowers to make zero-dollar monthly payments and pay off the debt after 10 years of payments.
Friday’s announcement came as part of a program that forgives borrowers’ outstanding loan balances. who have made 120 qualifying monthly payments and work in education, public health, law enforcement, emergency response and other public sector jobs.
President-elect Donald Trump has criticized the administration’s campaign to forgive student debt, but has not said whether he will reimpose restrictions on existing programs.
