Biden cancels student loans for 78,000 more public workers

WASHINGTON - Another round of student loan forgiveness was announced Thursday by President Joe Biden.

According to the Biden administration, another 78,000 Americans will have their federal student loans canceled through a program that helps teachers, nurses, firefighters and other individuals in public service. 

The Education Department is canceling the borrowers’ loans because they reached 10 years of payments while working in public service, making them eligible for relief under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

"These public service workers have dedicated their careers to serving their communities, but because of past administrative failures, never got the relief they were entitled to under the law," Biden said in a statement.

Students exit campus at the University of Texas at Austin on February 22, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Credit: Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Starting next week, those receiving the forgiveness will get an email from Biden congratulating them on their relief. A message from the Democratic president, who's running for reelection, will also be sent to 380,000 borrowers who are within two years of forgiveness under the program.

"I hope you continue the important work of serving your community," the message says, "and if you do, in less than two years you could get your remaining student loans forgiven through Public Service Loan Forgiveness."

In January, the Biden administration began canceling student loans for some borrowers.

EARLIER: Biden cancels student loan debt for another 74K borrowers

"Today, my Administration approved debt cancellation for another 74,000 student loan borrowers across the country, bringing the total number of people who have gotten their debt cancelled under my Administration to over 3.7 million Americans through various actions," Biden said in a statement on Jan. 19.

The latest round of student debt cancelation brings the total amount canceled under Biden to $144 billion, according to the administration.

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Thursday’s announcement follows action taken by Biden earlier this year for student loan borrowers enrolled in the Savings on Valuable Education (SAVE) plan. Borrowers enrolled in SAVE who took out less than $12,000 in loans and have been in repayment for 10 years would have their remaining debts zeroed out by February.

Biden is separately pushing for wider cancellation for borrowers who have been making payments for decades and those who went to colleges that are deemed to have low value for graduates, among others.

This story was reported from Los Angeles. FOX Business, the Associated Press contributed.