(ConservativeInsider.org) – The Washington Times obtained access to an exclusive notice to agency managers within the Department of Homeland Security on Monday, June 24, indicating that the agency will be launching a loan forgiveness program for certain employees, with repayments available up to $60,000.
The loan forgiveness program will be available to employees with hard to fill jobs within the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in an attempt to increase employee retention. The program will pay out $10,000 in loan forgiveness per year, with a minimum three-year commitment and a maximum threshold of $60,000 available per employee.
The chief human capital officer at the USCIS, Donna Campagnolo, spoke about how it has been difficult to achieve their goals with a high turnover rate at their department, saying they have been “relentless” in trying to attract and retain employees. It is unclear what positions within the department will be included in the debt forgiveness plan or how many people are expected to apply for these positions.
With the ongoing crisis at the border, the UCSIS budget provided by President Joe Biden anticipates filling 25,431 positions at the agency, up from the 18,339 employees they had in the 2021 fiscal year.
The news comes as two federal courts temporarily blocked major parts of Biden’s student loan debt relief program. Biden has approved almost $150 billion in debt relief for nearly five million people though executive actions. However, the Supreme Court struck down his attempts to cancel $400 billion in student loans last year.
Several states are involved in a lawsuit against the Biden administration for their attempts to cancel student loan debt, including Arkansas, Florida, Ohio, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Kansas. The Attorney General of Kansas, Kris Kobach, spoke about how Biden’s plan was not just unfair, but also unconstitutional, adding that “blue collar” workers in his state should not be forced to pay off the loans of people in other states who got “gender studies degrees.”
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