Biden Administration Forgives $9 Billion In Student Debt, Benefitting 150,000

Days after the resumption of federal student loan payments, the Biden administration okayed debt relief worth $9 billion for 125,000 more student loan seekers.

Student loan payments resumed after a pause of more than three years under two administrations.

Earlier, the Supreme Court set aside President Joe Biden‘s program under which student loans are forgiven. This program pledged up to $20,000 in debt relief. But despite the court’s decision against the program, the government has continued to grant loan forgiveness using other initiatives.

For its part, the administration considers the student loan system “broken” and has vowed to work to fix it. The debt relief recently announced is an extension of existing programs that had been marred by issues.

Under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, debt relief would be provided to 53,000 more loan seekers. After eligible public sector employees make ten years’ worth of monthly payments, the remaining debt would be forgiven. Since payments they made in the past are being recounted, about 51,000 borrowers are benefitting from loan forgiveness. These individuals were supposed to be given relief under student loan forgiveness, but administrative errors created hurdles in the process.

In addition, the debt of about 22,000 borrowers who face a disability will be automatically discharged after a data match with the Social Security Administration.

Forgiving student loan debts was one of Biden’s key campaign promises.

Speaking about the step, Biden said: “This kind of relief is life-changing for individuals and their families, but it’s good for our economy as well. By freeing millions of Americans from the crushing burden of student debt, it means they can go and get their lives in order.”