According to the Department of Education, as of Oct. 25, the total student loan erased through existing forgiveness programs since the start of President Biden’s administration had reached nearly $38 billion.
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The education department estimates that approximately 1.75 million borrowers have had their student loans forgiven as a result of targeted one-time fixes:
- More than $14 billion in compensation for 1 million borrowers whose schools were defrauded or closed.
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness provided $14 billion to over 236,000 borrowers.
- Total and permanent disability discharges totaled $9 billion, affecting around 425,000 borrowers.
(Photo: NewsNation)
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In addition to the student loans discharged through these existing forgiveness programs, the administration announced the Fresh Start initiative, which will return federal borrowers who have defaulted on their student loans to good standing and, more importantly, openly discussed a comprehensive student debt cancellation plan.
While the department claims to be working on new regulations to address the flaws in forgiveness programs more permanently, the Department of Education has paused all new applications for student loans until there’s already a verdict out of the lawsuits.
In addition, the White House has currently screened 26 million new student loan applications, with 16 million already processed and pending approval.
As for refunded funds, borrowers are required to return them at different times. If the refund for payments were requested during the pandemic, the new payment amount would reflect a larger balance, including the refund and when the payments will resume.
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