White House: Texas, California, Florida have most borrowers eligible for student loan forgiveness

Texas, California and Florida are the states with the most amount of student loan borrowers who can get debt relief provided through the Biden administration’s income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, the White House announced Tuesday morning.

The Biden administration said Friday it will provide $39 billion in total student loan forgiveness for 804,000 borrowers through the IDR plans, in which the federal government cancels remaining balances for the borrower after they have made their payments for 20 or 25 years.

In the state of Texas, 63,730 borrowers have been approved for an IDR discharge, which is nearly $3.1 billion in debt eligible for discharge. In Florida, there are 56,930 borrowers approved and over $3 billion in debt eligible, and in California, 61,890 borrowers approved and nearly $3 billion in debt eligible.

The White House released the state-by-state data to highlight the people who stand to benefit from the $39 billion in debt relief, according to a White House official. And, notices for that relief have already started going out the door so loans will be discharged in the coming weeks.

Other states with the largest numbers of borrowers approved for an IDR discharge include New York with 42,070 borrowers, Georgia with 38,590 borrowers, Ohio with 37,070 borrowers, Pennsylvania with 29,840 borrowers, Illinois with 28,450 borrowers and Michigan with 26,980 borrowers.

The announcement on Friday was the administration’s latest step towards relief since President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan was struck down by the Supreme Court late last month. The plan had aimed to forgive $10,000 in loans and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients but was struck down in a 6-3 decision.

The president then reintroduced his plan rooted in a different law, the Higher Education Act, which proponents argue allows the Education secretary to “compromise, waive or release” student loan debt.