In another win for the Biden administration, the President announced today that he's canceling an additional $1.2b in student loan debt for public service workers.
President Biden's original plan for one-time debt cancellation was overturned by the conservative Supreme Court, which said the move "overstepped" the President's authority.
Yes, this is the same SCOTUS that gave Donald Trump blanket immunity, just FYI.
Over 35,000 borrowers will feel the relief, according to the announcement on Thursday by the Education Department. Made through changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, the relief benefits workers such as teachers, nurses, and firefighters.
Those qualifying for forgiveness will have their remaining loan balance eliminated after making 120 qualifying monthly payments.
First created by Congress in 2007, the public service forgiveness program often frustrated and angered borrowers who suffered under the strict rules and mistakes by loan servicers in tallying their payments. As a result, they weren't able to get the cancellation they had worked towards.
Under the Biden administration, some rules were adjusted and retroactively gave many borrowers credit toward their 10 years of payments.
It's just another example of the administration's Build Back Better initiative, the President said in his statement.
“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, and because of the fixes we made to Public Service Loan Forgiveness, they will now have more breathing room to support themselves and their families,” President Biden said.