With only a few weeks left in office, United States President Joe Biden has cancelled $4.28 billion in student debt for nearly 55,000 public service workers.
This development came eight days after he pardoned 39 Americans convicted of non-violent crimes and adjusted the sentences of nearly 1,500 others as part of his administration’s broader criminal justice reform goals.
This announcement marks the second in a row, recording the total number of individuals who have been approved for student loan relief under President Biden to five million.
Confirming this milestone on Friday, Biden said, “From Day One of my Administration, I promised to make sure that higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,”
“Because of our actions, millions of people across the country now have the breathing room to start businesses, save for retirement, and pursue life plans they had to put on hold because of the burden of student loan debt,” he added.
According to the U.S. Education Department, the relief targets teachers, nurses, service members, law enforcement officials, and others who’ve reached eligibility through the program, which promises to erase loans after 10 years of work in government or nonprofit jobs.
It also revealed that the fund is expected to be the final round of public service loan forgiveness before Biden leaves office in January.
Under Biden, the Education Department loosened the rules for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which previously had a 99% rejection rate amid burdensome rules and widespread confusion over eligibility requirements.
With the latest round of relief, Biden has now cancelled an unprecedented $180 billion in federal student loans through existing programs, known as Public Service Loan Forgiveness, covering 4.9 million Americans.
