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Federal loan forgiveness program hits major milestone

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Updated  October 19, 2024 3:34pm EDT
Education
FOX 5 Atlanta
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardon announces a milestone in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program in Atlanta on Oct. 17, 2024. article

 U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardon announces a milestone in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program in Atlanta on Oct. 17, 2024. (FOX 5)

The Brief

    • U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced an extra $4.5 million for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program during his visit to Atlanta.
    • The Biden administration has canceled $175 billion in student loans for nearly 5 million borrowers, with the largest relief coming from the PSLF program.
    • The PSLF program, established in 2007 to forgive loans for public service workers after 10 years, faced issues with complicated eligibility criteria leading to high rejection rates starting in 2017.
    • Reforms by the Biden administration have led to over 1 million Americans receiving loan forgiveness through the PSLF program, up from only 7,000 before the changes.

ATLANTA - U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona visited Atlanta on Thursday to announce an additional $4.5 million in funding for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The funding marks a significant milestone for the program, which aims to provide relief to public service workers burdened by student loans.

The Biden administration has reported that it has canceled $175 billion in student loans for approximately 5 million borrowers through various existing programs. The PSLF program accounts for the largest portion of this relief, with other cancellations achieved through income-driven repayment plans and a 1994 rule that offered aid to students defrauded by their schools.

Originally established in 2007, the PSLF program promised to forgive the remainder of federal student loans for college graduates who completed 10 years of work in government or nonprofit jobs. However, starting in 2017, most applicants faced rejection due to complicated and little-known eligibility criteria.

Since the Biden administration's updates to the program two years ago, more than 1 million Americans have received loan forgiveness, a significant increase from the 7,000 approvals granted before the reforms.

The Source

  • The Associated Press contributed to this article with the U.S. Department of Education also supplying details for this FOX 5 Atlanta original report.