The U.S. Department of Education will cut student debt for hundreds of thousands of people with severe disabilities, it announced Thursday. The move will affect more than 300,000 borrowers who collectively owe a colossal $5.8 billion in debt. Rules that have long required aid recipients to verify their inability to make payments on loans will now be cast aside as the Biden administration has heard the calls of critics asking for a more fair system. “Today’s action removes a major barrier that prevented far too many borrowers with disabilities from receiving the total and permanent disability discharges they are entitled to under the law,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in a statement. While Democrats have long expressed interest in making more sweeping cuts to national student debt, the White House has sought ways to make more specific cuts while they examine the legality of a broader, large-scale cut.