Senator Casey worked with Governor Wolf to make this change
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) applauded Governor Wolf’s announcement to provide relief for student loan borrowers in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The PSLF program allows public servants’ loans to be forgiven after ten years of service, including teachers, nurses, first responders and servicemembers. However, current state law requires Pennsylvania residents to pay income taxes on their loan forgiveness. Senator Casey worked with Governor Wolf to update guidance for the state’s tax code to ensure borrowers aren’t penalized for their public service.
“Those who devote themselves to public service—our teachers, nurses, first responders, servicemembers and more—put their communities ahead of themselves,” said Senator Bob Casey. “They deserve the loan forgiveness they were promised and I applaud Governor Wolf for making this change and ensuring Pennsylvanians feel the benefits of this program. I will keep working to improve the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program so more public servants are receiving the benefits they deserve.”
Senator Casey has also advocated for other changes to improve the PSLF program. In May 2021, he joined 50 of his colleagues in sending a letter to Education Secretary Cardona calling on the Department of Education to strengthen the PSLF program and ensure public servants receive the forgiveness that they have earned. The Department of Education enacted some of these reforms in October 2021 through a temporary waiver using emergency authority.
Those reforms make this tax relief even more critical. Since the Department of Education announced its waiver expanding eligibility to PSLF for a limited time, more than 1,400 Pennsylvanians have received more than $96.5 million in forgiveness under PSLF. At an average amount of more than $65,000 in forgiveness, Governor Wolf’s updated guidance will save Pennsylvania borrowers thousands of dollars.
View more information on the Biden Administration’s limited-time PSLF waiver here.
