(Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Education has canceled student loan debt for 40,000 people and offered credits to help another 3.6 million pay off their loans under a plan announced on Tuesday designed to aid low-income borrowers and public servants.
The measures add to other steps the administration of President Joe Biden has taken to ease the student loan burden but they stop short of demands from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party for comprehensive student loan forgiveness.
The government said it was addressing “historical failures” in federal student loan programs by providing relief to at least 40,000 borrowers under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.
Several thousand borrowers with older loans will also receive forgiveness through income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness, plus another 3.6 million borrowers will receive at least three years of additional credit toward IDR forgiveness, the Education Department said in a statement.
“Student loans were never meant to be a life sentence, but it’s certainly felt that way for borrowers locked out of debt relief they’re eligible for,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in the statement.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Sandra Maler)
