Biden announces $4.28 billion in student loan relief for 55,000 borrowers

President Joe Biden’s administration will announce another $4.28 billion in student loan relief for nearly 55,000 public workers on Friday.

The announcement will bring the Biden administration’s total loan forgiveness to “approximately $180 billion for nearly 5 million Americans,” according to a Department of Education fact sheet.

The forgiveness is available to people who participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF), which provides debt relief for people in professions such as firefighting, nursing and teaching after 10 years of continuous payments.

The Biden administration has made fixes to that program, which had failed to provide student loan relief for many due to poor implementation and errors in the program, officials said.

“The public servants approved for debt relief today include teachers, nurses, military personnel, police officers and other public employees who have dedicated their lives to giving back to their communities and who finally deserve the relief they have been waiting for “We are entitled to do so within the framework of the law,” Biden said in a statement.

Of the nearly 5 million borrowers to whom the government has provided more than $180 billion in debt relief, more than 1 million were through PSLF. Relief for these PSLF borrowers totals about $78 billion, according to the government.

“From the first day of my administration, I have promised to ensure that higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden said in the statement.

He added: “Thanks to our actions, millions of people across the country now have the opportunity to start businesses, save for retirement and pursue life plans that they had to put on hold due to the burden of student loan debt.”