{"id":6618,"date":"2024-10-25T15:49:06","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T15:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/74-billion-in-student-loan-forgiveness-approved-as-key-program-faces-several-tests\/"},"modified":"2024-10-25T15:49:06","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T15:49:06","slug":"74-billion-in-student-loan-forgiveness-approved-as-key-program-faces-several-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=6618","title":{"rendered":"$74 Billion In Student Loan Forgiveness Approved As Key Program Faces Several Tests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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WINDHAM, NH – AUGUST 8:Former president Donald Trump hosted a campaign event at in Windham, New … [+]<\/span> Hampshire on Tuesday, August 8, 2023. (John Tully for The Washington Post via Getty ImagesLAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 9). Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 9, 2024. (Photo by Bridget Bennett for The Washington Post via Getty Images). Trump and Harris have offered competing visions for the future of student loan forgiveness<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/fbs-accordion>The Washington Post via Getty Images<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Biden administration announced last week that $74 billion in student loan forgiveness has now been approved for borrowers under a key program, offering a borrowers a rare bright spot during what has been a turbulent few months.<\/p>\n

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program crossed a major milestone last week, said administration officials. More than a million borrowers have now received a discharge of their federal student loans under PSLF \u2014 a remarkable improvement compared to when President Biden first took office.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore 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,\u201d said Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in a statement<\/a> last week. \u201cFrom Day One, the Biden-Harris administration made fixing this broken program a top priority, and today, I\u2019m tremendously proud that over one million teachers, nurses, social workers, veterans, and other public servants have received lifechanging loan forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n

But PSLF has been facing new challenges, and its ultimate fate could be decided in just a matter of weeks.<\/p>\n

Student Loan Forgiveness Under PSLF Has Skyrocketed Under President Biden<\/h2>\n

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The PSLF program was established through bipartisan legislation, signed by President George W. Bush, in 2007. Intended to incentivize employment in underserved and often underpaid nonprofit and public sector jobs, the program allows borrowers to qualify for federal student loan forgiveness after 120 qualifying monthly payments, the equivalent of 10 years.<\/p>\n

But for a long time, PSLF was plagued by problems. Complex rules and misinformation led some borrowers onto the wrong repayment plan or into non-qualifying deferment and forbearance periods, causing them to lose progress toward student loan forgiveness. And even for borrowers who were making their payments under the right plan and doing everything right, poor loan servicing practices and inadequate oversight by the Education Department caused many people to lose credit and give up on loan forgiveness altogether. By the time President Biden took office, the program had a 98% denial rate, with only a few thousand borrowers approved over the course of PSLF\u2019s existence.<\/p>\n

But the Biden administration took several steps to address PSLF\u2019s shortcomings and improve the program. These included the following:<\/p>\n