With just over two weeks until the presidential election, US President Joe Biden announced further student loan relief for public personnel totaling approximately $4.5 billion on Thursday.
According to the White House, the measure affects approximately 60,000 borrowers across the country, and highlights Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ efforts to increase loan forgiveness since assuming office.
Harris is the Democratic Party’s nominee for President in the November election, facing Republican former President Donald Trump.
The announcement comes as people grapple with increasing living costs as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, with polls showing that the economy is a major issue for voters.
According to Biden, the newest measure has resulted in the cancellation of debt for over one million people through Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
The program’s promise, which aimed to help teachers, nurses, and others, included student debt relief after 10 years of public service and 10 years of payments.
“But for too long, the government failed to live up to its commitments, and only 7,000 people had ever received forgiveness,” Biden said.
“I will never stop working to make higher education affordable,” he added.
Biden has embarked on efforts to cancel student debt for millions of Americans, after a student loan payment freeze instituted by Trump during the coronavirus pandemic.
Americans hold $1.6 trillion in student loans, and some end up repaying them over decades as they start jobs and families.