The Department of Education announced on July 14, 2023 that it would automatically discharge $39 billion in federal student loans for eligible borrowers.

On July 14, 2023, the Biden administration announced that the Education Department would automatically discharge about $39 billion in federal student-loan debt for roughly 804,000 borrowers whose income-driven repayment histories had been miscounted.

U.S. GAO - Federal Student Loans: Preliminary Observations on Borrower Repayment Practices after the Payment Pause
Source: gao.gov

U.S. GAO - Federal Student Loans: Preliminary Observations on Borrower Repayment Practices after the Payment Pause
Source: gao.gov

At a glance

Key Evidence

Verified September 1, 2026

The New York Times and NPR, both reporting on July 14, 2023, described a $39 billion discharge or forgiveness effort for more than 800,000 borrowers whose income-driven repayment records had been mishandled.
The archived White House release stated that the Department of Education began notifying 804,000 borrowers and that their loans would be automatically discharged in the following weeks.
CBS News independently reported in August 2023 that the administration had announced forgiveness of a combined $39 billion for 804,000 borrowers.

The reporting

What the Evidence Shows

The claim is supported by contemporaneous reporting and an archived White House release. On July 14, 2023, The New York Times reported that more than 800,000 borrowers would have a combined $39 billion in federal student debt eliminated after corrections to errors by loan servicers. NPR described the same action as forgiveness for borrowers affected by past mishandling of income-driven repayment plans.nytimes.com npr.org

The automatic nature of the action is also supported. The White House release said the Department of Education had begun notifying 804,000 borrowers and that their loans would be discharged automatically in the following weeks. The relief applied to borrowers identified through an account adjustment, rather than to all federal student-loan borrowers. CBS News likewise reported that the administration had announced forgiveness for 804,000 borrowers with a combined $39 billion in debt.cbsnews.com presidency.ucsb.edu

The amount represented a correction tied to income-driven repayment plans and borrowers’ progress toward cancellation, not the broad student-loan cancellation plan that the Supreme Court later blocked in June 2023. The provided congressional materials discuss the administration’s separate debt-relief initiatives and repayment actions, while the current Federal Student Aid pages contain general information and do not contradict the July 2023 announcement.congress.gov studentaid.gov +2 more

The statement is therefore accurate within its stated date and scope. “Eligible borrowers” is a material qualifier: the discharge covered the identified group of roughly 804,000 borrowers, not everyone with federal student loans. Later developments concerning other repayment plans or court actions do not change what the Department announced on July 14, 2023.

Primary trail