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The Education Department has authorized $8.1 billion in student loan debt cancellation for around 1450,000 borrowers in nine months since the Biden administration rebuilt the fallen public service loan forgiveness program. The new figures mark noteworthy improvements the department has made since announcing major changes to the program in October 2021. One of the several measures taken by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona included canceling student loan debt for specific borrowers entrapped in dysfunctional compensation plans because of mismanagement by loan servicers and misguided technological restrictions or for borrowers fooled by for-profit school colleges.

The public service loan forgiveness program was a promise made by the government in 2008 in order to offer debt relief to firefighters, teachers, nurses, and other people in public service jobs who have been embroiled by complex eligibility rules and servicing errors making it almost impossible to benefit from. According to the Education Department, the regulations surrounding how a borrower can qualify and count payments toward the program were onerous that only 16,000 borrowers have ever received forgiveness under the plan.

According to the 2019 report from the Government Accountability Office, only 1.3% of applicants approved for loan forgiveness. Last year, the Education Department initiated a set of policy changes and allowed borrowers to count earlier payments they made as moving toward payments under the public service loan forgiveness program nevertheless of what type of loan program they have or reduced the previous loan into so long as they work for a qualified employer.

The officials of the Education Department estimated that new modifications would help more than 550,00 borrowers who have circumscribed their loans earlier, including 22,00 borrowers who will be instantly qualified to have $1.74 billion in federal student loans terminated and another 27,000 borrowers who could possibly qualify for $2.82 billion in forgiveness if they certify periods of their employment. Under the Biden administration, the Education Department has canceled more than $24 billion in federal student loans for approximately one million borrowers, including settling a class action lawsuit last week that cleared a backlog of borrower defense chains.

However, the White House continues to be under growing pressure from modernists to go further and cancel $50,000 student loan debt for all borrowers. Joe Biden has been delaying the conclusion he said in May that he would make in the coming weeks concerning whether he intends to cancel student loan debt using his executive authority. While he has roundly contradicted proposals to cancel $50,000, he said he would be open to canceling up to $10,000.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, leading the push in the House, and Senate Elizabeth Warren also of Massachusetts joined the leaders of the country's largest unions in revitalizing their call for Biden to follow wholesale students loan cancellation. Pressley stated that they owe it to the millions of union workers who have kept the nation running during the unprecedented, challenging times. She also added that student debt cancellation is core to any just and fair economic recovery from this pandemic.