WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The Biden administration approved $4.5 billion in student debt relief for over 60,000 public service workers on Thursday. Thursday’s announcement brings the total number of Americans who have had their debt cancelled under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to over one million people. The program provides debt forgiveness for public service workers like teachers, nurses and firefighters who have been paying off their loans for more than 10 years. “From day one of my Administration, I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” President Joe Biden said in a statement. “I will never stop working to make higher education affordable- no matter how many times Republican elected officials try to stop us.” Thursday morning, President Biden shared a video on X, which showed him surprising a kindergarten teacher with the news that her student loans were being forgiven through the PSLF program after 12 years on the job. The program created in 2007 promised to cancel student debt for graduates after 10 years of working in government or nonprofit jobs. Starting in 2017, the majority of applicants were rejected because of complicated eligibility rules. “But for too long, the government failed to live up to its commitments, and only 7,000 people had ever received forgiveness under Public Service Loan Forgiveness before Vice President Harris and I took office,” Biden said in a statement. In total, the program has forgiven $74 billion in loans for public workers. Following the Supreme Court decision to strike down President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan in 2023, his administration has provided loan relief through already existing programs like PSLF and income-driven repayment plans. The Biden administration says it has now canceled a total of $175 billion for about five million borrowers. The Associated Press contributed to this report.