The Biden administration on Wednesday said it is automatically forgiving $1.2 billion in student debt for 153,000 borrowers. Loan holders whose debt will be discharged will receive an email from President Joe Biden today informing them of the forgiveness, the Department of Education said.
The debt relief is the latest push from the White House to address the nation's $1.77 trillion in student debt after the Supreme Court last year invalidated the Biden administration's plan for broad-based student loan forgiveness. That plan would have helped more than 40 million borrowers each wipe away up to $20,000 in debt.
With this latest round, the Biden administration said it has approved loan relief for nearly 3.9 million borrowers, many of whom have been repaying their debt for decades. The 153,000 borrowers who qualify for the latest debt forgiveness are those who are enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan and who have made at least 10 years of payments.