Biden to cancel $6 billion in student loans for 78,000 public service workers

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about an agreement to provide Intel with up to $8.5 billion in direct funding and $11 billion in loans for computer chip plants in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico and Oregon at the Intel Ocotillo Campus in Chandler, Ariz., Wednesday. AP-Yonhap

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced his administration will forgive student loans for thousands of public service workers.

Biden said the latest round of forgiveness will cancel $6 billion in student debt for 78,000 teachers, nurses, firefighters and other public service employees.

"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.

Biden said his administration has now canceled the student debt of more than 870,000 public service workers as part of the White House's effort to cancel or reduce student debt since the Supreme Court outlawed its larger student debt reduction program last year.

"Through all of our various student debt relief actions, nearly four million Americans have had their student debt canceled under my administration," Biden said. (UPI)