The Biden administration announced Friday it would be automatically forgiving student debt for 804,000 federal borrowers as a result of fixes to income-driven repayment plans.
The borrowers — who will be notified of their relief in the coming days, the administration said — will have a total of $39 billion in debt forgiven just weeks before they were set to begin making payments again.
The new wave of relief brings the Biden administration's amount of total student debt forgiven — which has included Public Service Loan Forgiveness, disability discharges and relief for defrauded students — up to more than $116.6 billion dollars.
Student debt relief advocates celebrated the administration's announcement, and now call on officials to keep the momentum going, especially given last month's defeat of Biden's broader student debt forgiveness program in the Supreme Court.
"Our student loan system is riddled with structural incompetence, and vulnerable, low-income, and Black and Bbrown borrowers face the harshest effects.
Persons:
—, Education Miguel Cardona, Persis Yu, Here's
Organizations:
Biden, Education, Student, Protection