Over 60,000 public service workers have their $4.5 billion in student debt forgiven by the Biden administration.

• On Thursday, the Biden administration declared that it had cancelled $4.5 billion in student debt for approximately 60,000 borrowers.
• The latest round of relief for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was due to the U.S. Department of Education's improvements to the program.
• In the upcoming weeks, borrowers eligible for relief should be informed of their cancelled debt.

On Thursday, the Biden administration declared that it was cancelling $4.5 billion in student debt for over 60,000 borrowers.

The latest round of relief for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was due to the U.S. Department of Education's improvements to the program.

Under President Joe Biden's administration, more than 1 million borrowers have been forgiven of their education debt, making him the president in U.S history to have granted the most debt relief.

"Biden stated that public service workers, including teachers, nurses, and firefighters, are vital to our communities and country. However, he pointed out that the government has not fulfilled its promises to these workers for too long."

The PSLF program, enacted by President George W. Bush in 2007, enables not-for-profit and government employees to have their federal student loans forgiven after 10 years. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's 2013 estimate, one-quarter of American workers may be eligible for this program.

The program encountered numerous issues, with borrowers frequently believing they were close to loan cancellation, only to find out later that they did not meet the technical requirements, such as loan type or repayment plan.

The Department of Education stated that only 7,000 individuals had received debt relief under PSLF before Biden took office. Additionally, the rejection rate for the program was as high as 98% in certain years.

The Education Department, under Biden's leadership, has loosened the program's standards and revamped its administration.

Eligible borrowers will be informed of their canceled debt in the upcoming weeks, with an average student loan balance of approximately $70,000 being forgiven under PSLF, according to a rough estimate by higher education expert Mark Kantowitz.

In the final weeks of a closely contested race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, an announcement was made on Thursday.

Harris has pledged to enhance the PSLF program and aid more Black men in pursuing teaching careers in public schools, aside from her work in the Biden administration on student loan relief initiatives.

In contrast to Trump's call for the elimination of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness initiative and opposition to Biden's efforts to cancel education debt, the Biden administration has proposed a plan to provide relief to student loan borrowers.