The world is waiting on you to get it done, Joe!

A recurring question for current President Joe Biden is when he plans to fulfill his promises of forgiving the student debt impacting thousands of Americans. That question might have been answered according to reports from Complex that a host of borrowers could be eligible for a new program that would significantly slash or eliminate the debt.

The move is possible through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program which was launched 15 years ago to help borrowers working in public servant-facing positions which include education, health care, emergency services, and others. Eligible borrowers will be credited for up to 10 years of monthly payments.

Biden's PSLF Modifications

Under the Biden administration, the program was questioned due to stringent requirements that left many feeling left out or excluded from PSLF. Therefore, the call to expand the program was made and now 30,000 more borrowers can reap its benefits. The amount of people who can now receive credits for those student loan repayments sits at 100,000 with a total of about $6.2 billion in debt set to be canceled.

“Our nation’s public service workers must be able to rely on the promise of Public Service Loan Forgiveness,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in a statement. “The Biden-Harris administration is delivering on that promise by helping more and more eligible borrowers get their loan balances forgiven. The PSLF announcement made today means more of our dedicated teachers, nurses, first responders, service members, and many other public service workers will get meaningful relief.”

Okay, So Now What?

Originally, when the changes to PSLF were made, it was confirmed that only about 550,000 borrowers would reap the benefits. Now, although close to 100,000 people are now able to receive that loan forgiveness, the administration has not defined when all qualifying borrowers will know their status.

In the meantime, the CARES Act that was signed by former President Donald Trump in March 2020 will be lifted starting May 1. The law put a pause on federal loan repayments due to the pandemic.

AfroTech previously reported that the Joe Biden administration claims it has managed to cancel $15 billion in student loans thus far. At this time, studies indicate that 43 million people are currently facing student loan debt accounting for over $1.7 trillion.