I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10477 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve the Public Service 

Loan Forgiveness program and reduce interest rates. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 18, 2024 

Mr. COURTNEY (for himself, Mr. SARBANES, and Mr. DESAULNIER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve 

the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and reduce 

interest rates. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Efforts 

5 for Relief and Vital Incentives for Community Service and 

6 Engagement Act’’ or the ‘‘SERVICE Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PUB2 LIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS. 

3 (a) NUMBER OF MONTHLY PAYMENTS.—Paragraph 

4 (1) of section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 

5 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) is amended— 

6 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘120 

7 monthly payments’’ and all that follows and insert8 ing ‘‘96 qualifying monthly payments on the eligible 

9 Federal Direct Loan after October 1, 2007; and’’; 

10 and 

11 (2) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘(B) has been employed in a public service 

14 job during the period in which the borrower 

15 makes each of the 96 qualifying monthly pay16 ments.’’. 

17 (b) REDESIGNATIONS.—Section 455(m) of the High18 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) is further 

19 amended by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), 

20 and as paragraphs (3), (6), and (7), respectively; 

21 (c) MONTHLY PAYMENTS.—Section 455(m) of the 

22 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) is 

23 further amended— 

24 (1) by inserting after paragraph (1), as so 

25 amended, the following: 

26 ‘‘(2) MONTHLY PAYMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) QUALIFYING MONTHLY PAYMENTS.— 

2 For the purpose of determining under para3 graph (1) the number of qualifying monthly 

4 payments made by a borrower on an eligible 

5 Federal Direct Loan, the Secretary shall con6 sider the borrower to have made a qualifying 

7 monthly payment for each month that— 

8 ‘‘(i) the borrower pays (as a lump 

9 sum or in multiple installments) an 

10 amount that is not less than the monthly 

11 payment amount due on the eligible Fed12 eral Direct Loan pursuant to any one or a 

13 combination of the following— 

14 ‘‘(I) payments under an income15 based repayment plan under section 

16 493C; 

17 ‘‘(II) payments under a standard 

18 repayment plan under subsection 

19 (d)(1)(A), based on a 10-year repay20 ment period; 

21 ‘‘(III) monthly payments under a 

22 repayment plan under subsection 

23 (d)(1) or (g) of not less than the 

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1 section (d)(1)(A), based on a 10-year 

2 repayment period; or 

3 ‘‘(IV) payments under an income 

4 contingent repayment plan under sub5 section (d)(1)(D); or 

6 ‘‘(ii) in lieu of a payment described in 

7 clause (i), the borrower is in one of the fol8 lowing periods of deferment or forbear9 ance— 

10 ‘‘(I) cancer treatment deferment 

11 under section 427(a)(2)(C)(iv), 

12 428(b)(1)(M)(v), or 455(f)(3); 

13 ‘‘(II) rehabilitation training pro14 gram deferment under section 

15 427(a)(2)(C)(i)(II), 

16 428(b)(1)(M)(i)(II), or 

17 455(f)(2)(A)(ii); 

18 ‘‘(III) military service deferment 

19 under section 428(b)(1)(M)(iii) or 

20 455(f)(2)(C); 

21 ‘‘(IV) unemployment deferment 

22 under section 427(a)(2)(C)(ii), 

23 428(b)(1)(M)(ii), 428B(d)(1)(A)(i), or 

24 455(f)(2)(B); 


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1 ‘‘(V) deferment due to an eco2 nomic hardship described in section 

3 427(a)(2)(C)(iii), section 

4 428(b)(1)(M)(iv), section 

5 428B(d)(1)(A)(i), section 435(o), or 

6 section 455(f)(2)(D); 

7 ‘‘(VI) Peace Corps service 

8 deferment under section 

9 682.210(b)(2)(ii) or 682.210(k) of 

10 title 34, Code of Federal Regulations 

11 (or successor regulations), as made 

12 applicable to Direct Loan borrowers 

13 under section 685.204(j) of such title 

14 34; 

15 ‘‘(VII) post-active-duty student 

16 deferment under section 493D; 

17 ‘‘(VIII) AmeriCorps forbearance 

18 under section 428(c)(3)(A)(i)(III); 

19 ‘‘(IX) National Guard Duty for20 bearance under section 

21 682.211(h)(2)(iii) or 685.205(a)(7) of 

22 title 34, Code of Federal Regulations 

23 (or successor regulations); 

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1 ance under section 

2 428(c)(3)(A)(i)(IV); 

3 ‘‘(XI) administrative forbearance 

4 or mandatory administrative forbear5 ance under section 428(c)(3)(D) or 

6 428H(e)(7); or 

7 ‘‘(XII) student loan debt burden 

8 forbearance under section 

9 428(c)(3)(A)(i)(II). 

10 ‘‘(B) PREPAYMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

12 (ii), if, for any month, a borrower makes a 

13 qualifying monthly payment on an eligible 

14 Federal Direct Loan in an amount that ex15 ceeds the monthly payment amount due on 

16 such loan for such month, the Secretary 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(I) if the excess amount is less 

19 than the monthly payment amount 

20 due for the subsequent month on such 

21 loan, apply the excess amount toward 

22 the monthly payment amount due for 

23 such subsequent month; 

24 ‘‘(II) if the excess amount is 

25 equal to the monthly payment amount 


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1 due for the subsequent month on such 

2 loan, treat the excess amount as the 

3 monthly payment for such subsequent 

4 month; 

5 ‘‘(III) if the excess amount is 

6 greater than the monthly payment 

7 amount due for the subsequent month 

8 on such loan, but less than the total 

9 monthly payment amounts due for the 

10 2 subsequent months on such loan— 

11 ‘‘(aa) treat the portion of 

12 the excess amount that covers 

13 the monthly payment amount due 

14 for the subsequent month as the 

15 monthly payment for such subse16 quent month; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) apply the remainder of 

18 the excess amount toward the 

19 monthly payment amount due for 

20 the second subsequent month; 

21 ‘‘(IV) if the excess amount is 

22 equal to or greater than the monthly 

23 payment amount due for the 2 subse24 quent months on such loan, but less 

25 than the total monthly payment 


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1 amounts due for the 3 subsequent 

2 months on such loan— 

3 ‘‘(aa) treat the portion of 

4 the excess amount that covers 

5 the monthly payment amounts 

6 due for the subsequent month 

7 and the second subsequent month 

8 as the monthly payments for 

9 such months; and 

10 ‘‘(bb) apply any remainder 

11 of such excess amount toward the 

12 monthly payment amount due for 

13 the third subsequent month; 

14 ‘‘(V) if the excess amount is 

15 equal to the monthly payment 

16 amounts due for the 3 subsequent 

17 months on such loan, treat the excess 

18 amount as the monthly payments for 

19 such months; 

20 ‘‘(VI) if the excess amount is 

21 greater than the monthly payment 

22 amounts due for the 3 subsequent 

23 months on such loan— 

24 ‘‘(aa) treat the portion of 

25 the excess amount that covers 


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1 the monthly payment amounts 

2 due for the 3 subsequent months 

3 as the monthly payments for 

4 such months; and 

5 ‘‘(bb) apply any remainder 

6 of such excess amount to the 

7 principal balance of the eligible 

8 Federal Direct loan; and 

9 ‘‘(VII) notwithstanding sub10 clauses (I) through (VI), if the bor11 rower has a monthly payment amount 

12 due on such loan for such month that 

13 is equal to $0, apply any excess 

14 amount for such month to the prin15 cipal balance of the eligible Federal 

16 Direct loan. 

17 ‘‘(ii) ALTERNATIVE APPLICATION.— 

18 Prior to or at the time of making a pay19 ment that exceeds the monthly payment 

20 amount due on an eligible Federal Direct 

21 Loan for such month, a borrower may re22 quest that any excess amount for such 

23 month be applied to the principal balance 

24 of an eligible Federal Direct loan in lieu of 


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1 such excess amount being applied in ac2 cordance with clause (i). 

3 ‘‘(C) BUYBACK PAYMENT PROCESS.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

5 shall establish a buyback payment process 

6 under which a qualified borrower of an eli7 gible Federal Direct Loan may make a 

8 buyback payment in order to have eligible 

9 months of the borrower’s public service 

10 employment period during which the bor11 rower did not make a qualifying monthly 

12 payment on such loan be treated as if the 

13 borrower had made a qualifying monthly 

14 payment on such loan. 

15 ‘‘(ii) QUALIFIED BORROWER.—A bor16 rower is a qualified borrower for the pur17 poses of making a buyback payment in ac18 cordance with this subparagraph if the 

19 borrower— 

20 ‘‘(I) has an eligible Federal Di21 rect Loan that is not in default; 

22 ‘‘(II) has been employed in a 

23 public service job for not less than a 

24 96 month employment period, but 

25 during such employment period has 


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1 made fewer than 96 qualifying month2 ly payments on an eligible Federal Di3 rect Loan; and 

4 ‘‘(III) requests to make a 

5 buyback payment in accordance with 

6 this subparagraph. 

7 ‘‘(iii) ELIGIBLE MONTH.—For the 

8 purposes of this subparagraph, an eligible 

9 month means a month during which a 

10 qualified borrower was employed in a pub11 lic service job, was not in an in-school 

12 deferment or grace period, and did not 

13 make a qualifying monthly payment on an 

14 eligible Federal Direct Loan for such 

15 month— 

16 ‘‘(I) because the borrower made a 

17 monthly payment on such eligible 

18 Federal Direct Loan pursuant to a re19 payment plan that is not a qualifying 

20 repayment plan; 

21 ‘‘(II) because the borrower was 

22 in a period of deferment or forbear23 ance other than a period described in 

24 clause (ii) of subparagraph (A); or 


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1 ‘‘(III) for another reason deter2 mined appropriate by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(iv) BUYBACK PAYMENT REQUIRE4 MENTS.—A buyback payment made in ac5 cordance with this subparagraph— 

6 ‘‘(I) shall be made by a qualified 

7 borrower as a lump sum payment 

8 amount, and in an amount that equals 

9 the total amount the borrower would 

10 have paid in qualifying monthly pay11 ments on the eligible Federal Direct 

12 Loan for all eligible months the bor13 rower is requesting to buyback, pursu14 ant to a qualifying repayment plan 

15 applicable to the borrower, in accord16 ance with section 685.219(g)(6) of 

17 title 34, Code of Federal Regulations 

18 (as such section is in effect on the 

19 date of enactment of this paragraph) 

20 or any other relevant regulations in 

21 effect on such date; 

22 ‘‘(II) may not be made with re23 spect to an eligible Federal Direct 

24 Loan that has been paid off, dis25 charged, or cancelled; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) with respect to an eligible 

2 Federal Direct Loan that is a consoli3 dation loan, may not be used to 

4 buyback eligible months that occurred 

5 before the date of the consolidation of 

6 such loan. 

7 ‘‘(D) HOLD HARMLESS AGAINST RETRO8 ACTIVE DETERMINATIONS.—For purposes of 

9 determining under paragraph (1) the number of 

10 qualifying monthly payments made by a bor11 rower, any payment or period of deferment or 

12 forbearance that is determined to be a quali13 fying monthly payment may not, at a later 

14 time, be determined not to be a qualifying 

15 monthly payment.’’; and 

16 (2) in paragraph (6), as redesignated by section 

17 2(b), by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(C) QUALIFYING REPAYMENT PLAN.— 

19 The term ‘qualifying repayment plan’ means 

20 any of the repayment plans listed in clause (i) 

21 of paragraph (2)(A).’’. 

22 (d) LOAN CANCELLATION.—Paragraph (3) of section 

23 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

24 1087e(m)), as redesignated by subsection (b), is amended 

25 to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(3) LOAN CANCELLATION AMOUNT.—Upon 

2 certification by a borrower of completion of 96 quali3 fying monthly payments by the borrower, the Sec4 retary shall determine whether the borrower meets 

5 each of the requirements of paragraph (1), and— 

6 ‘‘(A) if the Secretary determines that the 

7 borrower does meet such requirements, cancel 

8 the obligation to repay the balance of principal 

9 and interest due as of the time of such cancella10 tion on the eligible Federal Direct Loans made 

11 to the borrower under this part, without further 

12 action by the borrower; or 

13 ‘‘(B) if the Secretary determines that the 

14 borrower does not meet such requirements, no15 tify the borrower of such determination in ac16 cordance with paragraph (4).’’. 

17 (e) RECONSIDERATION PROCESS.—Section 455(m) of 

18 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)), 

19 as redesignated by subsection (b), is further amended by 

20 inserting after paragraph (3), as so amended, the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(4) INITIAL DETERMINATION OF INELIGI23 BILITY FOR LOAN CANCELLATION.—In a case in 

24 which the Secretary determines that a borrower has 


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1 not met the requirements of paragraph (1), the Sec2 retary shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) notify the borrower that— 

4 ‘‘(i) the borrower’s application has 

5 been denied, including the basis for such 

6 denial; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the borrower is in a 90-day for8 bearance period described in subparagraph 

9 (B); and 

10 ‘‘(iii) the Secretary will resume collec11 tion of the eligible Federal Direct Loans 

12 for which the borrower was seeking loan 

13 cancellation under this subsection after 

14 such 90-day forbearance period, unless the 

15 borrower opts to extend such forbearance 

16 period under paragraph (5)(A)(ii); and 

17 ‘‘(B) grant the borrower a 90-day forbear18 ance period, beginning on the date of the notice 

19 described in subparagraph (A) provided to the 

20 borrower, and during which— 

21 ‘‘(i) payments of principal and inter22 est need not be made on the eligible Fed23 eral Direct Loans for which the borrower 

24 was seeking loan cancellation under this 

25 subsection; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any interest accrued and not 

2 paid may not be capitalized. 

3 ‘‘(5) RECONSIDERATION PROCESS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION.— 

5 Not later than 90 days after the date of the no6 tice described in paragraph (4)(A) provided to 

7 the borrower— 

8 ‘‘(i) the borrower may request, on a 

9 form approved by the Secretary, that the 

10 Secretary reconsider the basis for the Sec11 retary’s denial under paragraph (4)(A)(i); 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) if the Secretary grants the bor14 rower’s reconsideration request, offer the 

15 borrower an extension of the 90-day for16 bearance period described in paragraph 

17 (4)(B), which shall— 

18 ‘‘(I) begin on the date of the bor19 rower’s reconsideration request under 

20 this subparagraph; and 

21 ‘‘(II) end on the date of the no22 tice provided to the borrower under 

23 subparagraph (C)(i)(I) of the Sec24 retary’s reconsideration decision. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF RECONSIDER2 ATION REQUEST.—In evaluating a reconsider3 ation request from a borrower, the Secretary 

4 shall consider any relevant evidence or sup5 porting documentation that may assist the Sec6 retary in determining whether the borrower 

7 meets each of the requirements of paragraph 

8 (1) to qualify for loan cancellation under this 

9 subsection. 

10 ‘‘(C) DECISION BY THE SECRETARY.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 

12 months after receipt of a borrower’s recon13 sideration request, the Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(I) notify the borrower of the 

15 reconsideration decision and the rea16 son for the Secretary’s determination; 

17 ‘‘(II) in a case in which the re18 consideration request is granted, ad19 just the borrower’s number of quali20 fying monthly payments under para21 graph (1) or cancel the loan under 

22 paragraph (3); and 

23 ‘‘(III) in a case in which the Sec24 retary denies the reconsideration re25 quest, with respect to a borrower who 


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1 agrees to the forbearance extension 

2 described in subparagraph (A)(ii), in3 clude in the notice provided to the 

4 borrower under subclause (I), a re5 minder that the Secretary will resume 

6 collection of the eligible Federal Di7 rect Loans for which the borrower 

8 was seeking loan cancellation under 

9 this subsection as of the date of such 

10 notice. 

11 ‘‘(ii) FINAL DECISION.—After the 

12 Secretary makes a decision on the bor13 rower’s reconsideration request, the Sec14 retary’s decision is final, and the borrower 

15 will not receive additional reconsider16 ation.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT. 

18 (a) INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS.—Section 455(m) 

19 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(8) TREATMENT OF INDEPENDENT CONTRAC21 TORS.—For purposes of this subsection, each ref22 erence to ‘employment’ and ‘employed’ shall be 

23 treated as including work as an independent con24 tractor.’’. 


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1 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Paragraph (6) of section 455(m) 

2 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

3 1087e(m)), as redesignated by section 2(b), is further 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(D) FULL-TIME.—The term ‘full-time’ 

6 means, with respect to a public service job, 

7 working 1 or more such jobs— 

8 ‘‘(i) a minimum average of 30 hours 

9 per week during the period being certified; 

10 ‘‘(ii) a minimum of 30 hours per week 

11 throughout a contractual or employment 

12 period of at least 8 months in a 12-month 

13 period; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) with respect to an individual 

15 who is in nontenure track employment at 

16 an institution of higher education, the 

17 equivalent of 30 hours per week as deter18 mined by multiplying each credit or con19 tact hour taught by such individual per 

20 week by a number to be determined by the 

21 Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(E) INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR.—The 

23 term ‘independent contractor’ means an indi24 vidual who is not an employee and who is work25 ing in a public service job in a position or proVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Jan 24, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10477.IH H10477

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1 viding services which, under applicable State 

2 law, cannot be filled or provided by an employee 

3 of the public service job.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. ONLINE PORTAL AND DATABASE OF PUBLIC SERV5 ICE JOBS. 

6 Section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

7 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(9) ONLINE PORTAL AND DATABASE OF PUB9 LIC SERVICE JOBS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) ONLINE PORTAL.— 

11 ‘‘(i) BORROWERS.—The Secretary 

12 shall establish an online portal that pro13 vides to borrowers of eligible Federal Di14 rect Loans the following information: 

15 ‘‘(I) Instructions on how to ac16 cess the database established under 

17 subparagraph (B) so that the bor18 rower can determine whether the bor19 rower is employed in a public service 

20 job. 

21 ‘‘(II) An identification of the 

22 loans of the borrower that are eligible 

23 Federal Direct Loans, and an identi24 fication of the qualifying repayment 


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1 plans for which such eligible Federal 

2 Direct Loans qualify. 

3 ‘‘(III) With respect to each such 

4 eligible Federal Direct Loan— 

5 ‘‘(aa) the number of quali6 fying monthly payments the bor7 rower has made in accordance 

8 with paragraph (1); and 

9 ‘‘(bb) the estimated number 

10 of qualifying monthly payments 

11 under such paragraph remaining 

12 on such loan before the borrower 

13 may be eligible for loan cancella14 tion under this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(IV) With respect to each loan 

16 of the borrower that is not eligible for 

17 loan cancellation under paragraph (3) 

18 of this subsection, an explanation of 

19 why the loan is not so eligible and in20 structions on how what, if anything, 

21 the borrower may do to make the loan 

22 so eligible. 

23 ‘‘(V) Instructions for the submis24 sion of any forms associated with such 

25 loan cancellation, and an ability for 


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1 the borrower to use the portal to elec2 tronically sign and submit such forms. 

3 ‘‘(VI) In a case in which a bor4 rower submits to the Secretary an ap5 plication for loan cancellation under 

6 this subsection that is denied by the 

7 Secretary— 

8 ‘‘(aa) a notice of such denial 

9 that meets each of the require10 ments of paragraph (4)(A), in11 cluding an explanation of the 90- 

12 day forbearance period; 

13 ‘‘(bb) a form that meets 

14 each of the requirements of para15 graph (5)(A), which the borrower 

16 may use to request reconsider17 ation of such denial, including 

18 accepting an extension of the 90- 

19 day forbearance period; and 

20 ‘‘(cc) a notice of the Sec21 retary’s reconsideration decision, 

22 which meets each of the require23 ments of paragraph (5)(C). 

24 ‘‘(VII) An explanation of the 

25 buyback payment process described in 


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1 paragraph (2)(C), and a form to re2 quest such a buyback, including the 

3 eligible months for which the borrower 

4 may request a buyback, and the 

5 amount that the borrower would be 

6 required to pay for such buyback. 

7 ‘‘(VIII) An explanation of how 

8 consolidating one or more Direct 

9 Loans into a Direct Consolidation 

10 Loan, including a Direct PLUS Loan 

11 made to a parent borrower, will affect 

12 the number of qualifying monthly pay13 ments attributed to the borrower. 

14 ‘‘(ii) APPROPRIATE CONTACTS.—The 

15 Secretary shall ensure that an appropriate 

16 contact for a public service job of a bor17 rower has the option to electronically sign 

18 and submit any forms associated with loan 

19 cancellation under paragraph (3) of this 

20 subsection. 

21 ‘‘(iii) INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

22 shall ensure that any information provided 

23 through the online portal described in this 

24 subparagraph contains up-to-date informa25 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DATABASE OF PUBLIC SERVICE

2 JOBS.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in 

4 consultation with the Secretary of Labor, 

5 shall establish and regularly update a data6 base that lists public service jobs. 

7 ‘‘(ii) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The 

8 database established under clause (i) shall 

9 be made available on a publicly accessible 

10 website of the Department of Education in 

11 an easily searchable format.’’. 

12 SEC. 5. TREATMENT OF PERIODS OF DEFERMENT AND FOR13 BEARANCE. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 455(f) of the Higher Edu15 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(f)) is amended— 

16 (1) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

17 ‘‘AND FORBEARANCE’’ at the end; 

18 (2) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘capital19 ized or’’; and 

20 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(7) FORBEARANCE.—With respect to a loan 

22 that is in a period of forbearance, interest on such 

23 loan may not be capitalized after the conclusion of 

24 such period.’’. 


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1 (b) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENT.—The amend2 ments made by subsection (a) shall apply to any period 

3 of deferment or forbearance in effect as of the date of the 

4 enactment of this Act, and any period of deferment or for5 bearance beginning on or after such date of enactment. 

6 SEC. 6. TREATMENT OF CONSOLIDATED AND REFINANCED 

7 LOANS. 

8 Section 455(m)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 

9 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)(2)), as amended by the pre10 ceding provisions of this Act, is further amended by insert11 ing after subparagraph (D) the following: 

12 ‘‘(E) DETERMINATION OF NUMBER OF

13 QUALIFYING MONTHLY PAYMENTS FOR CON14 SOLIDATION LOANS.—With respect to deter15 mining the number of qualifying monthly pay16 ments for a borrower seeking loan forgiveness 

17 under this subsection who consolidates one or 

18 more Direct Loans into a Direct Consolidation 

19 Loan, including a Direct PLUS Loan made to 

20 a parent borrower, the Secretary shall use the 

21 weighted average of the payments the borrower 

22 made on the Direct Loans prior to consoli23 dating that met the criteria under this sub24 section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR TEACHERS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Higher Education Act of 

3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is further amended— 

4 (1) in section 428J(g)(2) (20 U.S.C. 1078– 

5 10(g)(2))— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or’’ 

7 after the semicolon at the end; 

8 (B) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

9 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

10 subparagraph (B); and 

11 (2) in section 460(g)(2) (20 U.S.C. 

12 1087j(g)(2))— 

13 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or’’ 

14 after the semicolon at the end; 

15 (B) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

16 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

17 subparagraph (B). 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 455(m)(7) 

19 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as redesignated by 

20 section 2(b) of this Act, is amended by striking ‘‘section 

21 428J, 428K, 428L, or 460’’ and inserting ‘‘section 428K 

22 or 428L’’. 

23 SEC. 8. GAO STUDY ON DATA MATCHING AGREEMENTS FOR 

24 PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS. 

25 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

26 United States shall conduct a study on the feasibility of 


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27 

•HR 10477 IH

1 establishing data matching agreements for public service 

2 loan forgiveness under section 455(m) of the Higher Edu3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) that would allow 

4 a borrower to forego requesting certification of employ5 ment from the appropriate contact for the public service 

6 job of the borrower. The study shall include an examina7 tion of the Department of Education and the Department 

8 of Defense’s progress towards automatic data matching 

9 for military and veteran borrowers. 

10 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

12 submit a report to the Committee on Education and the 

13 Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Com14 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

15 Senate containing the findings and recommendations re16 sulting from the study required under subsection (a). 

17 (c) COOPERATION.—The head of each relevant Fed18 eral agency, including the Secretary of Education, Sec19 retary of Defense, and Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 

20 shall cooperate with the Comptroller General to facilitate 

21 the completion of the study required under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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