During a visit to Atlanta on Thursday, U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona announced the approval of approximately $4.5 billion in additional student loan relief for public service workers.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program will bring the total loan forgiveness approved by the president’s administration to over $175 billion for roughly 4.8 million Americans. Currently, over 40,000 Georiga residents have earned loan forgiveness through the program.
“That’s more than any other administration in history, even if you add them up [and] combine them all,” said Cardona.
According to a recent press release, the program provides financial relief to public service workers, such as social workers, nurses, and first responders, by forgiving the remaining student loss balance of those who have made the 120 monthly qualifying payments.
Cardona, a former teacher, said during the press conference that his upbringing in a family of public servants shaped his desire to give back to his community, which often has to make large monetary sacrifices.
“I’m thinking about the public servants I met in my time of Secretary of Education as I traveled the country,” he said. “The nurses who ran those vaccination clinics’ during the pandemic. Those early childhood teachers who weren’t able to work from home … they’re still paying debt.”
Speaking to WABE, U.S. Undersecretary of Education James Kvaal mirrored Cardona’s sentiments, describing his experience of meeting public service workers who will benefit from the program as “moving.”
“These are people who want to spend their careers helping their community, helping our country … teachers or social workers who have close to one hundred thousand in debt and it’s made it a real challenge for them do the career that they love, that we all have a stake in and also support their own families.”
According to department data, 41,610 Georgia residents are approved for the PSLF program, with $3,792,000 eliminated in the balance.
“We’re really pleased that there are [roughly] 42,000 people in Georgia who have been serving in government or nonprofit roles for ten years or more, and as a result they have earned public service loan forgiveness.”
Kvaal also acknowledged that despite the program, there are still young people who are unsure whether to pursue higher education due to the costs and potential high debt.
“Going to college can change the trajectory not just of your life, but also your family’s life for generations to come, but unfortunately, students do need to be cautious,” said Kvaal, offering the department’s college scorecard as a resource that will show potential graduates their estimated income after graduation based on their career choice.
During his announcement at Atlanta City Hall, Cardona stated that he hopes that the additional forgiveness will encourage young people who want to enter into public servant positions without fear of debt or financial instability.
“Today is a day of celebration. It’s a day that sends the message to young people across America pursuing a career in service to others isn’t only a noble thing to do, but a reliable path to becoming debt free in a decade,” he said. “But our work is not over.”
