US announces steps to address USD 1.75 trillion student loan debt: Education dept

Washington [US], April 20 (ANI/Sputnik)

The Biden administration issued a release announcing that it is taking steps to correct "historic failures" that have hamstrung some 46 million student loan borrowers in debt amounting to USD 1.75 trillion.

"Today, the Department of Education announced steps that will bring borrowers closer to public service loan and income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness by addressing historical failures in the administration of the federal student loan programs," the release said on Tuesday. Federal Student Aid estimates that the changes will result in immediate debt cancellation for at least 40,000 borrowers under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, the release said.

"Several thousand borrowers with older loans will also receive forgiveness through IDR. More than 3.6 million borrowers will also receive at least three years of additional credit toward IDR forgiveness," the release said.

The IDR plan will ensure that borrowers have an affordable and successful way out of their debt, the release added.

Biden administration officials have said implementing various facets of the plan will put teeth into their efforts to effectively wrestle with burgeoning student debt and efforts to revise IDR regulations will produce substantially more manageable and affordable monthly payments for millions of borrowers, according to the release.