The President of the United States, Joe Bidenannounced this Thursday the 17th a new forgiveness of student loans for public employees worth 4.5 billion dollars (25 billion reais), just over two weeks before the elections.
The measure benefits almost 60,000 people across the country, according to the White Housewhich highlighted the efforts of Biden and the vice president, Kamala Harristo expand debt forgiveness since they took power.
Harris is the Democratic Party candidate for the November 5 elections, when she will face the former Republican president Donald Trump.
The announcement comes as American families face rising costs of living since the Covid-19 pandemic and in which the economy is one of voters’ biggest concerns, according to polls.
Biden said in a statement that more than a million people have been able to cancel their debts under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
The program, which supports, among other categories, teachers and nurses, allows the forgiveness of student debts after 10 years of public service and 10 years of payment of installments.
“But for a long time, the government did not fulfill its commitments and only 7,000 people received pardons,” said Biden.
“I will never stop working to make higher education accessible,” he added.
Kamala Harris said in a separate statement that higher education “should be a path to economic opportunity, not a life of debt” and also promised to continue working to “ease the burden of student debt.”
Americans have student loans totaling $1.6 trillion, and many pay off the debt over decades.
