$10 Billion in Student Debt Erased Under Biden, but Calls Grow for More

Even without the blanket forgiveness that progressives have pushed, the administration has sped up and broadened its relief efforts before borrowers are set to resume payments in January.

Nearly $10 billion in student loan debt has been wiped away since President Biden took office, the most sweeping attempt to fix badly broken parts of the federal student loan system in at least a decade. The beneficiaries include permanently disabled people, those who were defrauded by failed for-profit schools and soldiers deployed to war zones. More than 500,000 borrowers had their loans erased this year, largely through aid programs that all but stopped functioning during the Trump administration. While Mr. Biden has so far fended off calls for the kind of blanket debt cancellation that is a top priority of many progressive lawmakers, a parade of relatively modest eligibility and relief enhancements adds up to a significant expansion of support for beleaguered borrowers. And more may be coming: The Education Department said it was planning regulatory changes to programs aimed at helping public servants and those on income-driven repayment plans.