Following a continued push from Senator Reverend Warnock, the Biden Administration yesterday announced it has completely canceled outstanding student loan debts for more than 150,000 Americans, including potentially thousands of Georgians

Senator Reverend Warnock, a Pell Grant and low-interest student loan recipient, has championed student debt relief since entering the U.S. Senate

Thanks to the Senator’s leadership, the Biden Administration has so far canceled $138 billion in student debt for over 4 million Americans

Senator Reverend Warnock: “Nearly 4 million borrowers have received relief so far—and I’ll keep pushing President Biden to cancel even more”

Washington, D.C. – This week, following U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA)’s leadership, the Department of Education announced 153,000 enrollees in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) program, including thousands of Georgians, had their student loan debt completely canceled. The SAVE Plan is an income-driven repayment program that calculates monthly payments based on the borrower’s income and family size. Today’s announcement cancels outstanding student loan debt for SAVE Plan enrollees who borrowed less than $12,000 a decade ago or longer. Over 180,000 Georgians are enrolled in the SAVE Plan. Click HERE to learn more.

“This week, over 150,000 hard-working Georgians and Americans who have been paying back their student loans for over a decade woke up to find their debts completely cleared,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “As a Pell Grant recipient and the first in my family to go to college, I know the difference that good public policy can make in covering the cost of a higher education. Nearly 4 million borrowers have received relief so far—and I’ll keep pushing President Biden to cancel even more.”

Senator Reverend Warnock has long advocated for the White House to address the student loan crisis, and has continued pushing the Administration to deliver meaningful student debt relief. Last August, the Senator pushed President Biden to swiftly fulfill his promise to deliver targeted student debt cancellation to working and middle-class families by early 2024 following the misguided SCOTUS decision overturning the President’s student debt cancellation. Also in July 2023, the Senator urged the Education Secretary to take steps to provide assistance to incarcerated individuals burdened by student loan debt. 

The Senator’s leadership on student debt relief dates back to the Senator’s first term, when in December, April, and August of 2022, Senator Warnock called on the Biden Administration to extend a pause on payments and cancel student debt. At a March 2022 Democratic retreat, the Senator pressed the President to cancel student debt. In April 2022, as a result of the Senator’s April 2021 letter, the Department of Education also announced it would restore defaulted student loans to on-time status amid the ongoing payment pause. Later that month, Senator Warnock joined his colleagues in requesting additional details from the Department of Education on its plans to provide student borrowers a “fresh start.” Senator Warnock told Morehouse graduates during his commencement address in May 2022 that he was pushing President Biden to cancel some student loan debt, and days later, met with President Biden in the Oval Office and urged him to take swift action to address student debt.

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