Biden-Harris advance student debt relief for public service workers
The Biden-Harris administration has announced additional student loan cancellations, offering debt relief to over 60,000 nonprofit and government employees burdened by college debt while serving in often low-paying public service roles.
Initially, these workers were told they could pursue socially rewarding careers and get their federal student loans forgiven through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. PSLF was created in 2007 and designed to benefit teachers, nurses, first responders, and other public servants, provided they completed 10 years of consistent monthly payments on their debt.
But PSLF had numerous administrative problems, which led to many applicants being rejected for reasons like being on incorrect repayment plans or having not received credit for previous payments they made to loan servicers.
“That was the promise of Public Service Loan Forgiveness: spend ten years serving the greater good and you could be debt free,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said. “It was a simple idea. But a decade later, when many borrowers began applying for the forgiveness they earned –– that promise was broken. Public servants saw their applications fall victim to fine print technicalities, red tape, accounting errors, and a wall of indifference from the last administration.
“These Americans acted in good faith. They paid their student loans while working in the public interest. But instead of fixing PSLF, my predecessor was more focused on handouts for predatory for-profit colleges. When I got to the Department of Education in 2021, just 7,000 public servants had ever qualified. By then, people had lost faith… They called PSLF a cruel joke, a broken promise, a nightmare. This is how folks described the program to me when I became secretary.”
The Department of Education says it has now taken over the administration of PSLF and can ensure that borrowers get credit for past payments.
“From day one of my administration,” President Joe Biden said, “I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity. I will never stop working to make higher education affordable –– no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us.”
All along the way, Republicans have fought the Biden administration’s attempts to update the PSLF. Republican-led states and groups filed lawsuits to try to stop changes to the program by arguing that the Department of Education had no legal authority to do so.
Vice President Kamala Harris said: “Higher education should be a pathway to economic opportunity – not a lifetime of debt. That is why I have fought to make education more affordable and reduce the burden of student debt throughout my career.
“When President Biden and I took office, only 7,000 people had ever been approved for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Today, I am proud to say that a record one million teachers, nurses, first responders, social workers, and other public service workers have received student debt cancellation. As I travel our nation, I meet many of these public servants who say they now have more money in their pocket to put towards buying a home, renting an apartment, getting a car, starting a family, and saving up for the future.”
Public sector unions like the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Education Association (NEA), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) will be reaching out to their members to help them understand the new changes to PSLF and to encourage them to apply for debt relief.
The post Biden-Harris advance student debt relief for public service workers appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.