Latest student debt relief: $5 billion for longtime borrowers, public servants

President Joe Biden approved more student loan relief for another 74,000 borrowers on Friday, waiving $4.9 billion in debt.

The relief targets longtime borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. It comes largely as a result of changes the Education Department made to the programs, in part motivated by a nonpartisan watchdog report.

It largely mirrors other relief he has granted in recent months and is another example of the president beating his chest over the more targeted loan forgiveness he's been able to achieve despite the Supreme Court's rebuke of his initial relief plan last summer.

"I won’t back down from using every tool at our disposal to get student loan borrowers the relief they need to reach their dreams," Biden said in a statement about the relief.

For 29,700 borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment, Biden waived $1.7 billion in relief by reassessing their repayment timelines. Those who, after the adjustment, were determined to have been paying down their loans for more than two decades qualified automatically for full forgiveness.

The other $3.2 billion went to 43,900 borrowers enrolled in Public Service Loan Forgiveness, a repayment program for public servants. Many of those borrowers had their payments reassessed by the federal government, shortening up their repayment timelines, too.

The administration has already been readjusting the accounts of some borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans, while also reassessing payments made by PSLF borrowers, for months. The Education Department has been drawing out the process of notifying those borrowers. In October, for example, 125,000 borrowers saw $9 billion worth of forgiveness. Then came another $5 billion for about 80,000 borrowers last month.

Experts say the Biden team has made a political calculation that prioritizing student loan relief will help his reelection efforts come November.

Zachary Schermele is a breaking news and education reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele.