President Joe Biden announced Thursday that his administration was forgiving $4.5 billion in student loan debt for more than 60,000 public service workers.
The debt forgiveness announcement is the latest example of a series of administrative moves by Biden to shift student debt burdens onto the federal dime.
“Public service workers – teachers, nurses, firefighters, and more – are the bedrocks of our communities and our country,” Biden said in a statement. “They dedicate their careers to giving back to others, and were given the promise of student debt forgiveness after 10 years of public service and 10 years of payments under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
“But for too long, the government failed to live up to its commitments, and only 7,000 people had ever received forgiveness under Public Service Loan Forgiveness before Vice President Harris and I took office,” he added.
The White House said that so far, Biden has moved more than $170 billion in debt obligations onto taxpayers, with about 5 million Americans receiving some level of debt forgiveness.
Biden’s effort to issue sweeping, nationwide student loan forgiveness of $10,000 to $20,000 per American was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional. Only Congress has the power to appropriate funds, but Biden has maneuvered within the administrative system to release more funds.
“Before President Biden and Vice President Harris entered the White House, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was so riddled by dysfunction that just 7,000 Americans ever qualified and countless public servants were trapped making payments on debts that should have been forgiven,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement.
Some critics have taken issue with the efforts, including most Republicans, who say taxpayers should not take on the debt burden, especially since many taxpayers couldn’t afford to go to college or make less money than those receiving assistance.
“Correction: taxpayers forced to pick up the tab for 60,000 government workers,” Lindsey Burke, an education expert at the Heritage Foundation, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Total taxpayer bill for Biden-Harris loan cancellation to date: ~$170 billion.”
