Biden Has Now Forgiven 1 Million Student Loans For Public Servants

Key Takeaways

• The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program has forgiven the federal student loan debts of 1 million borrowers as of Thursday.
• The PSLF had only forgiven 7,000 debts when Biden changed the rules in 2021 to make it easier to qualify.
• The milestone is a victory for Biden's efforts at student loan forgiveness even as other programs, which would affect more borrowers, are tied up in court battles.

Even as President Joe Biden's largest efforts to forgive student loans are stalled in legal battles, one of his administration's programs has hit a milestone of erasing debt for 1 million borrowers.

The Department of Education said Thursday that the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program forgave another $4.5 billion worth of student loan debt for 60,000 borrowers. Since Biden changed the program's rules in 2021, the Department said, the PSLF program has forgiven loans for more than 1 million people.

The PSLF was created in 2007 to encourage people to pursue careers in teaching and other public service occupations, despite the fact that those jobs often pay less than equivalent positions in the private sector.

Under the program, borrowers who make payments on their loans for 10 years while working for a government or nonprofit organization are eligible to have any remaining federal loans forgiven. However, as of 2021, due to complex rules and administrative errors, only 7,000 people had ever actually had their loans forgiven. Biden streamlined the program, making it easier to qualify for.

"We transformed a program that helped just 7,000 borrowers into one that has forgiven debt of 1 million public service servants and counting," Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said on a conference call with reporters. "'And counting is an important part because we fixed the problem, so this will continue to improve year after year."

The PSLF overhaul was part of a larger Biden effort to forgive loans for borrowers. The centerpiece of his forgiveness policy, erasing up to $20,000 of debt per borrower, was shot down by the Supreme Court last year.

Other efforts, including a second attempt at broad loan forgiveness and the SAVE repayment plan featuring affordable income-based payments, have been temporarily blocked by judges. The courts are considering Republican states' arguments that the programs should also be struck down.

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