Biden writes off six billion dollars in student debt for public service workers

(Patria) - US President Joe Biden announced that he is writing off nearly six billion dollars in student debt for 78,000 public service workers. Teachers, nurses, and firefighters are among those eligible for assistance, the White House announced.

To date, Biden has cancelled $143 billion in debt for nearly 4 million people, the BBC reported.

In this latest move, 78,000 public service workers will have an average of about $77,000 in student loan debt forgiven.

"These public service workers have dedicated their careers to serving their communities, but due to past administrative failures, they never received the relief they were entitled to under the law," Biden said.

About 43 million people in the US have student loan debt, with federal loans making up a large majority. Since the Supreme Court struck down the Biden administration's broader student debt relief plan last year, the president has been trying to use old and new loan repayment plans to help relieve debt.

The White House's original plan was intended to forgive up to $20,000 in debt per person, which would amount to over $400 billion in student loans. However, the US Supreme Court ruled that Biden did not have the authority to cancel this debt without Congressional approval.
This issue has particularly galvanized young voters, a key bloc Biden is trying to win over in the 2024 presidential election. Republicans oppose the cancellation of student debt.

Many young Americans were angered by the Supreme Court's ruling and criticized the Biden administration for not doing more to address student loans. Since then, the White House has highlighted that Biden has cancelled more student debt than any other president and has found additional options to reduce it.

The latest debt relief plan applies to government and non-profit workers in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The plan allows some of these full-time workers to see their debt forgiven after 120 monthly payments.