$1.2B in student debt relief approved, helps 35,000 public service workers

Tens of thousands of teachers, nurses, firefighters, and others who are considered public servants are the latest to have their student debt forgiven.

The Department of Education announced on Thursday that $1.2 billion of additional student loan relief has been approved.

So far the Biden administration has approved the forgiveness of $168.5 billion through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. The program was started in 2007, but until President Joe Biden took office in 2021, only 7,000 people benefited from it because the program was mismanaged, Bloomberg reported.

As long as people who work in public service and paid 120 qualifying monthly payments (10 years) and are enrolled in the PSLF, the balance left has been forgiven, the DOE said in a news release.

The latest round is for people who had waivers or had effects from regulatory changes that corrected past issues with the program, Bloomberg explained.

So far about 4.76 million Americans have benefited from the student loan forgiveness initiative, with more help coming this fall.

Like Biden’s initial promise to get rid of $400 billion in student debt, the new plan is likely to face legal challenges, Bloomberg reported. His original plan was struck down by the Supreme Court last year, CNN reported.

Another Biden-era plan, the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan, is also being challenged by Republican-led states. The SAVE plan helps low-income people lower their monthly payments, CNN reported. The Supreme Court is considering the legal ramifications of the program and may stop a portion of it until the courts decide.

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