United States Public Service unions are calling on President Joe Biden to cancel all student debt for long-time Government workers.
The unions, representing teachers, fire-fighters, health care workers and Government employees, want Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona (pictured) to fully erase the debt of borrowers who have worked for more than a decade in Public Service jobs.
The unions say the relief is needed because the Education Department’s existing Public Service Loan Forgiveness program has been plagued by problems and mismanagement.
More than 98 per cent of applicants seeking loan forgiveness have been rejected by the program.
In a joint letter to Mr Cardona, the unions said the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for immediate action.
“Public Service workers who should have already benefited from the Department of Education’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program are serving on the front-lines of our pandemic response — caring for patients, teaching our students, and delivering essential services in communities across the country,” the unions said.
The call was led by the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teacher’s union, and the letter was signed by 14 other unions which collectively represent more than 10 million Public Service workers.
For years, Democrats have raised concerns about the difficulty that Public Service workers have had navigating the PSLF.
They sharply criticised Former Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos’ oversight of the program, which former President, Donald Trump wanted to eliminate.
“After four years of scandal and allegations of widespread mismanagement, it is clear to our organisations that the Federal Government has fundamentally failed to deliver on this promise,” the letter to Mr Cardona said.
On the campaign trail, Mr Biden vowed to fix the PSLF and he backed legislation that would expand the benefits.
Now the unions are pressing the Biden Administration to go further and use executive action to swiftly provide automatic relief to Public Service workers.
Washington, 2 April
