Student-Loan Forgiveness for Public-Service Workers Totals $8.1 Billion Since October

The Biden administration’s overhaul of a largely moribund scholar debt forgiveness program for public-service workers has led to $8.1 billion in authorized aid for 145,000 debtors since October.

Last fall, the Education Department instituted a waiver for its Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which was created by Congress in 2007 to encourage college students to enter professions like educating, nursing and public-interest legislation. The waiver was meant to make it simpler for extra public-service employees to qualify for debt aid, after the Education Department revealed that since its creation solely 5,500 debtors had seen their debt wiped clean below this system.