On Jan. 19, 2024, President Biden announced that his administration will forgive $5 billion in student debt for an additional 74,000 borrowers — bringing the total to over 3.7 Americans who have had their debt cleared under his leadership — according to CBS News.
President Biden shared that of the 74,000 borrowers from this round, almost 44,000 are teachers, nurses, and firefighters, as well as additional individuals who became eligible for student loan forgiveness due to working 10 years of public service.
It was also revealed that for 20 years, nearly 30,000 of the borrowers had been repaying their loans, “but did not get the relief they earned through income-based plans.”
“From day one of my administration, I vowed to improve the student loan system so that a higher education provides Americans with opportunity and prosperity — not unmanageable burdens of student loan debt,” Biden shared in a statement, per the outlet. “I won’t back down from using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams.”
The President’s sense of urgency regarding student loan forgiveness follows actions by the Supreme Court to block his relief program of up to $20,000 for 40 million Americans back in June 2023, according to the outlet.
Despite the barriers, President Biden has been taking action to lessen the burden for Americans. As previously shared by AFROTECH, it was reported in 2022 that the Biden administration had cancelled $15 billion in student loan debt since he took office in 2021. Then, in 2023, it was announced another $9 billion in student debt relief was approved for 125,000 borrowers.
Now, Biden has shared that starting in February 2024, people who borrowed less than $12,000 in loans and have been repaying them for 10 years will have their debt cleared, per another report by CBS News.
