OKLAHOMA (KFOR) – The Biden-Harris Administration released new data on Friday showing how many people in each state applied or were automatically eligible for student debt relief.

In August, President Joe Biden announced his Administration’s goal to offer up to $20,000 in debt relief for borrowers earning less than $125,000 per year. According to officials, the program’s aim was to protect borrowers most at risk of misconduct or default as a result of misfortune caused by COVID-19 when the payment pause ends.

Officials say that within four weeks of the application being available, 26 million people either applied for student debt relief or were already deemed eligible by the Department of Education based on information provided. More than 16 million of those borrowers’ applications were entirely approved by the Department and passed onto loan servicers.

In Oklahoma, 270,000 people either applied or were deemed automatically eligible for debt relief while 172,000 people in the state had fully-approved applications sent to loan servicers for relief.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, more than 40 million borrowers overall would be eligible for the Administration’s debt relief program. Almost 90% of the benefits of the relief for out-of-school borrowers would be given to those earning less than $75,000 per year.

In November, less than a month after the application’s initial release, the Department stopped accepting applications as a result of lawsuits proposed by opponents of the program. Loan servicers were then stopped from releasing any debt.

For a full list of each state, the White House Fact Sheet.