Biden promises $5 billion more in student debt relief. How many Californians have been helped?
More than 80,000 student loan borrowers nationwide will receive nearly $5 billion in relief, according to an announcement from President Joe Biden’s administration.
The $4.8 billion in relief for 80,300 borrowers is the result of fixes the U.S. Department of Education made to income-driven repayment forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The department said the changes included providing an accurate count of progress to forgiveness and addresses concerns with misuse of forbearance.
The White House said that brings the total debt canceled to nearly $132 billion for more than 3.6 million borrowers.
“Before President Biden took office, it was virtually impossible for eligible borrowers to access the student debt relief they rightfully earned,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a news release. “This level of debt relief is unparalleled and we have no intention of slowing down.”
Federal student loan payments restarted in October, with interest resuming in September, after a three-and-a-half year pause.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Biden’s broader student debt forgiveness program that would have forgiven more than $400 billion in federal student loans earlier this year.
How does student debt relief break down?
Of the $4.8 billion, $2.2 billion is for nearly 46,000 borrowers through fixes to income-driven repayment. The administration said it has approved nearly $44 billion in income-driven relief for almost 901,000 people.
In addition, 34,400 borrowers will get $2.6 billion in relief through Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
That brings total relief to $53.5 billion for nearly 750,000 borrowers since October 2021, according to the Education Department.
How many borrowers have benefited in California?
The Education Department reported 63,660 California borrowers with an outstanding balance of $4,701,600 million total had Public Service Loan Forgiveness discharges since October 2021.
Another 68,780 California borrowers with $3,317,600 million outstanding were identified for income-driven repayment forgiveness.
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