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In the latest effort to bring relief to public service workers, the Biden-Harris administration has canceled another $4.5 billion in student loans for 60,000 more Americans, bringing the total amount of student loan debt relief to over 1 million public servants since taking office nearly four years ago.
In an announcement early Thursday morning, Biden pointed out that many Americans who were promised student loan cancellation after 10 years of payments in a public service profession didn’t receive it.
“We vowed to fix that, and because of actions from our Administration, now over 1 million public service workers have gotten the relief they are entitled to under the law,” Biden stated.
Thousands in Oklahoma benefit from new debt cancellation
Before the Biden-Harris administration took office, only 7,000 Americans had been approved for debt cancellation through the plan, which passed in 2007. The 1 million cancellations under Biden represent a 14,000% increase.
“Today, I am proud to say that a record one million teachers, nurses, first responders, social workers, and other public service workers have received student debt cancellation,” Vice President Kamala Harris stated.
In Oklahoma, 9,180 public servants had $600.2 million worth of their student loan debt cancelled under this plan, according to a state-by-state breakdown.
Over $73 billion in student loan debt has been canceled for public service workers in the four years of Biden’s term in office.
The cancellations don’t include the majority of borrowers who didn’t pursue a public service profession. Biden’s income-driven SAVE plan, which would have cancelled debt for millions of Americans across the country, has remained blocked by the courts after Republican states intervened to stop it.
Meanwhile, the president has been able to move forward with purging student loans for public service workers by tweaking the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) through executive action. The announcement comes as public service workers continue to face a dangerous working environment.
Public service workers face threats as student loans canceled
In a White House call with reporters ahead of Thursday’s public announcement, U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona drew a contrast between the Biden-Harris administration and former Trump administration.
“When many borrowers began applying for the forgiveness they earned, that promise was broken. Public servants saw their applications fall victim to fine print technicalities, to red tape, to accounting errors and a wall of indifference from the Trump administration,” Cardona told reporters on the call.
Notably, public service workers have faced threats and a dangerous working environment for years. During the height of the pandemic in major cities like New York, nurses faced the threat of imminent death simply for showing up to work.
Teachers in Oklahoma continue to face threats and harassment from the state’s own far-right Superintendent Ryan Walters as he uses taxpayer funds for a media blitz blasting “left-wing indoctrination.” The rhetoric has resulted in multiple bomb threats at schools in Oklahoma. Notably,
Most recently, in places like Florida and North Carolina, first responders have faced verbal and physical attacks amidst storm recovery efforts following blatant lies and misinformation from Republicans accusing them of ignoring conservative communities.
Public service is “a deep sacrifice”
Speaking with White House officials on background, the Black Wall Street Times asked why the Biden-Harris administration feels it’s important to provide student loan relief specifically to public service workers, especially in light of the attacks against them in many places across the country.
“Obviously the attacks you described are outrageous and just terrible,” an official responded. “Public service is a commitment. It is often a deep sacrifice. It means giving your life and career to helping others, to making America stronger. The least we can do is to make sure that when you’re engaged in public service you’re able to pay off your student loans and that that burden isn’t something that you carry throughout your life.”
While the status of the vast majority of student loan borrowers remains in limbo, the officials blamed Republicans for suing to block their plans from taking effect.
“It is deeply unfortunate that we’ve reached a moment when many Republicans in Congress are seeking to repeal this program, but the President, the Secretary, believe deeply in public service, believe deeply in the commitment to making sure that if you’re engaged in public service, obviously you can lead a safe life, have a good career and not be profoundly burdened by student debt. And that’s what we’re celebrating today,” the official said.
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