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# Biden-Harris Administration Announces Additional $4.9 Billion in Approved Student Debt Relief

# Biden-Harris Administration Announces Additional $4.9 Billion in Approved Student Debt Relief

January 19, 2024

**Contact:  **press@ed.gov

                                    -        
The  Biden-Harris Administration announced today the approval of $4.9 billion in  additional student loan debt relief for 73,600 borrowers. These discharges are  the result of fixes made by the Administration to income-driven repayment (IDR)  forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

Today’s announcement  brings the total loan forgiveness approved by the Biden-Harris Administration  to $136.6 billion for more than 3.7 million Americans.

“The Biden-Harris  Administration has worked relentlessly to fix our country's broken student loan  system and address the needless hurdles and administrative inaccuracies that, in the past,  kept borrowers from getting the student debt forgiveness they deserved,"  said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. "The nearly $5 billion in  additional debt relief announced today will go to teachers, social workers, and  other public servants whose service to our communities have earned them Public  Service Loan Forgiveness, as well as borrowers qualifying for income-driven  repayment forgiveness because their payments are for the first time being  accurately accounted for. Thanks to President Biden's leadership, we're  approving this loan forgiveness while moving full speed ahead in our efforts to  deliver even greater debt relief, and help more borrowers get on a faster track  to loan forgiveness under our new, affordable SAVE repayment plan."

The  debt relief announced today is broken down into the following categories:
- **$1.7 billion for 29,700 borrowers through       administrative adjustments to IDR** payment counts that have brought borrowers closer to       forgiveness and address longstanding concerns with the misuse of       forbearance by loan servicers. Including today’s announcement, the       Biden-Harris Administration has now approved $45.7 billion in IDR relief       for 930,500 borrowers.
- **$3.2 billion for 43,900 borrowers through PSLF.**This includes borrowers who       have benefitted from the Biden-Harris Administration’s limited PSLF waiver       as well as regulatory improvements made to the program by the       Administration. Total relief through PSLF is now $56.7 billion for 793,400       borrowers since October 2021. Prior to the Biden-Harris Administration’s       fixes to PSLF, only about 7,000 borrowers had ever received forgiveness. 

“Today  we are helping borrowers who were promised help with their loans, planned their  lives around those promises, and earned forgiveness through years of payments.”  said U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal. “The Biden-Harris  Administration is not going to stop until we’ve helped all of those harmed by  the broken student loan system.”

**Continued  debt relief for borrowers**

The  Biden-Harris Administration last week announced that the U.S. Department of Education (Department) is fast-tracking additional  loan forgiveness through early implementation of the Saving on a Valuable  Education (SAVE) Plan. Borrowers who originally took out $12,000 or less for  college and are enrolled in the SAVE Plan will see forgiveness after as few as  10 years of payments. Those who are enrolled in SAVE and are eligible for early  forgiveness will have their debts automatically cancelled starting next month,  months ahead of schedule, with no action needed.

The  Department began communications with borrowers who may be eligible but are not  already enrolled in SAVE to encourage them to sign up. The Department is also  working with its partners through the SAVE on Student Debt campaign to reach  eligible borrowers and provide resources to sign up for SAVE. 

Borrowers  can find additional resources at StudentAid.gov and sign up for the SAVE plan  at StudentAid.gov/save.

**An  unparalleled track record of borrower assistance**

The  Biden-Harris Administration has taken historic steps to reduce the burden of  student debt and ensure that student loans are not a barrier to opportunity for  students and families. The Administration secured the largest increase to Pell  Grants in a decade and finalized new rules to protect borrowers from career  programs that leave graduates with unaffordable debts or insufficient earnings.  And, in the wake of the Supreme Court decision on the Administration's original  student debt relief plan, the Administration continues its work to pursue an  alternative path to debt relief through negotiated rulemaking under the Higher  Education Act.

Beyond  the relief under IDR and PSLF, the Biden-Harris Administration has also  approved:
- $11.7 billion for almost 513,000 borrowers with a total       and permanent disability.
- $22.5 billion for more than 1.3 million borrowers who       were cheated by their schools, saw their institutions precipitously close,       or are covered by related court settlements.
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