US president Joe Biden has said that he will write off $5.8 billion in student debt for 77,700 borrowers.
In the days to come, Biden will email another 380,000 public service workers notifying them that their debt will be removed in another two years. The education department from time to time has announced the waiving off of loans.
Last year, the Supreme Court struck down its sweeping $400 billion loan forgiveness plan. The 6-3 decision, with conservative justices in the majority, said the government had overstepped its authority with the plan.
The Biden-led government has so far cleared the education debts of nearly 4 million people, totaling $143.6 billion in relief.
“For too long, our nation’s teachers, nurses, social workers, firefighters, and other public servants faced logistical troubles and trap doors when they tried to access the debt relief they were entitled to under the law,” US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said as reported by Reuters.
In 2007, the then president George W Bush signed the Public Service Loan Forgiveness programme into a law that allowed certain not-for-profit and government employees to have their student loans forgiven after 10 years of on time payment. Before the Biden administration came into power, only 7,000 people received debt relief under the debt programme.
Since 2021, 871,000 borrowers have now had their debt cancelled under the programme.
The emails come at a time when the Biden administration is gearing up for elections and is set to remind voters that it has approved more student debt cancellation than under any other president.
Biden started sending emails to borrowers who are getting student loan forgiveness last month when it first announced debt relief around $1.2 billion.
Steep interest and hefty payments on these loans mean younger Americans struggle to buy homes or make other investment and Democrats have pushed for US government forgiveness for students. Republicans oppose such moves.
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