The Biden administration said on Wednesday that it would forgive $7.7 billion in student debt for more than 160,000 borrowers, its latest effort to reduce the burden of education debt on households.
The relief is a result of the U.S. Department of Education's improvements to its income-driven repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness program."The Biden-Harris Administration remains persistent about our efforts to bring student debt relief to millions more across the country," said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in a statement.
Wednesday's loan forgiveness includes $5.2 billion for 66,900 borrowers pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and $1.9 billion for 39,200 people enrolled in income-driven repayment plans.President Joe Biden's sweeping student debt cancellation plan last summer, the White House has been exploring its existing authority to reduce borrowers' balances. One area it has found fruitful: the Education Department's already established but hard to access loan forgiveness options.
Including Wednesday's round of relief, the Biden administration has so far excused the debt of 4.75 million borrowers, totaling $167 billion in aid. Much of that totalFor example, income-driven repayment plans lead to loan erasure after a certain period, but the Education Department often didn't have a proper accounting of borrowers' timeline, reports found. The department said in 2022 it would review these accounts.The decision to sell your home vs.