Senator Murray Encourages WA Public Servants to Seek Student Debt Relief Under PSLF Waiver, Reiterates Call to Extend October Deadline

Statement

On Wednesday, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), co-hosted an online workshop with the Tacoma Urban League, encouraging student borrowers working in public service to seek the debt relief they are owed through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) waiver ahead of the October 31 deadline. During remarks at the workshop, Senator Murray also reiterated her call on the Biden administration to extend the waiver deadline to prevent confusion and ensure all eligible borrowers can get the relief they deserve.

"The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is a key way for so many public servants across Washington State--including teachers, firefighters, and more--to get the relief they are entitled to," said Senator Murray. "I've fought to correct past issues with the program--and I'm glad the Biden administration's created a waiver to make sure that public servants long denied the relief they're owed can now get it."

"I'm still pushing hard to extend the deadline for that waiver--because that's what borrowers deserve--but right now, applications are due at the end of the month--October 31st," added Senator Murray. "So it's important to get your application in soon!"

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program allows public servants--like teachers, firefighters, government workers, and nonprofit employees--to have their remaining student debt canceled entirely after making payments and working in public service for 10 years.

Senator Murray led her colleagues in urging the Biden administration to fix the PSLF program, which has historically failed to deliver the relief it promises for borrowers who have served their communities and their country--so that public servants long denied relief can finally receive it. Following Senator Murray's push, the Biden administration created a waiver and has taken steps to do just that--making it easier for public servants to get the relief they deserve. So far, the limited PSLF waiver has delivered more than $10.5 billion in debt forgiveness for over 172,000 borrowers and resulted in over 1.1 million borrowers receiving additional credit toward forgiveness.

But despite the waiver's tremendous success in delivering relief for public servants, only a fraction of public servants with student debt who could be eligible for relief under PSLF have applied thus far--and the current waiver deadline is fast approaching on October 31. Senator Murray urged the Biden administration to extend the deadline in March, and she has continued to push for an extension until at least July 1, 2023. Extending the waiver would help minimize confusion among borrowers and ensure they can seek relief under the waiver until July of next year, when the Department of Education's new proposed rules improving federal student debt relief programs, including PSLF, are set to take effect.

Senator Murray co-hosted the Tacoma Urban League's online workshop sharing key information on PSLF and student loan forgiveness with members of the South Sound community.

"Public Service Loan Forgiveness is an overdue opportunity that community must take advantage of. This webinar partnership was an opportunity to break down the application process, which can sometimes be intimidating and confusing, so that we can provide greater access to PSLF," said T'wina Nobles, President and CEO of the Tacoma Urban League. "We are grateful for Senator Murray's office and the U.S. Dept. of Education for helping community and members of the Tacoma Urban League take steps toward loan forgiveness and financial freedom."

Student borrowers in Washington state and across the country can learn about PSLF and apply before the waiver deadline at PSLF.gov--and can learn about President Biden's broader student debt relief plan and sign up for updates at StudentAid.gov/debtrelief.

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