AFT Cheers Department of Education’s Reforms to Public Service Loan Forgiveness

WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Education’s reforms to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

“The Department of Education is taking real and meaningful steps to help the thousands of borrowers who, through no fault of their own, were for years cruelly denied the relief that they were owed. Instead of helping, loan servicers deliberately forced borrowers into forbearance to line their own pockets, defrauding a generation who’ve dedicated their lives to serving the public and who were on the frontlines of our pandemic response. These changes will allow them to regain their footing and start to heal the broken bipartisan promise of PSLF.

“Still, these reforms don’t help everyone—including the millions still suffering under a $1.7 trillion student debt sentence that’s stopping them from buying a house, starting a family or launching a business. That’s why the administration must also enact widespread student debt relief for all Americans at the earliest opportunity.”