I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7877 

To improve the public service loan forgiveness program under section 455(m) 

of the Higher Education Act of 1965, to improve loan forgiveness eligibility provisions under such Act for teachers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 5, 2024 

Mr. NORCROSS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To improve the public service loan forgiveness program under 

section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 

to improve loan forgiveness eligibility provisions under 

such Act for teachers, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Second Chance at Pub5 lic Service Loan Forgiveness Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The public service loan forgiveness program 

2 under section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act 

3 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) was created in 2007 

4 to attract individuals to public service by forgiving 

5 an individual’s Federal loans under part D of title 

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

7 1071 et seq.; 20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) after 10 

8 years of employment in areas of national need. 

9 (2) These public service careers, which include 

10 employment in military, emergency management, 

11 government, public safety, law enforcement, public 

12 health, education, child care, social work, services for 

13 individuals with disabilities, services for the elderly, 

14 public interest legal services, and library sciences, 

15 pay substantially less than similar careers in the pri16 vate sector. 

17 (3) The public sector also repeatedly experi18 ences workforce shortages, especially following the 

19 COVID–19 pandemic. 

20 (4) An undergraduate degree, certification, or 

21 advanced degree is a prerequisite to enter or ad22 vance in these public service careers. Yet, research 

23 suggests that the prospect of several decades of stu24 dent loan payments often deters individuals from 

25 pursuing careers in public service. 


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1 (5) The public service loan forgiveness program 

2 has substantially failed. In 2018, 99 percent of the 

3 borrowers who applied for relief under the program 

4 were denied due to improper type of loans, employ5 ment, or repayment plan, or the number of pay6 ments that they had made. 

7 (6) Advocates and enforcement agencies, includ8 ing 38 State Attorneys General and the Bureau of 

9 Consumer Financial Protection, have repeatedly 

10 found that all of the major Federal student loan 

11 servicers provided inaccurate information to bor12 rowers who were interested in or relying upon the 

13 public service loan forgiveness program. They also 

14 found that servicers repeatedly steered borrowers 

15 away from public service loan forgiveness into higher 

16 monthly payments and into deferment and 

17 forbearances. 

18 (7) This has caused millions of public servants 

19 irreparable economic harm, including preventing 

20 them from buying a home, opening a small business, 

21 starting a family, or retiring, because of their stu22 dent debt. 

23 (8) Despite the recent actions of President 

24 Biden’s administration to improve the public service 

25 loan forgiveness program, these actions are limited 


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1 and will not fully atone for the repeated, pervasive, 

2 and systemic actions by Federal student loan 

3 servicers to prevent public servants from fully bene4 fitting from this program. 

5 SEC. 3. MAKING FORGIVENESS ATTAINABLE FOR PUBLIC 

6 SECTOR WORKERS. 

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

8 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall cancel 

12 the balance of interest and principal due, in accord13 ance with paragraph (2), on any eligible Federal Di14 rect Loan not in default for a borrower who— 

15 ‘‘(A) obtained an eligible Federal Direct 

16 Loan on or after January 1, 1994; 

17 ‘‘(B) has been employed full-time in public 

18 service for a total period of 10 years or more 

19 after the date on which the first eligible Federal 

20 Direct Loan was obtained; and 

21 ‘‘(C) while employed full-time in public 

22 service during the period described in subpara23 graph (B), completes 120 monthly payments on 

24 the eligible loans of the borrower, pursuant to 

25 any one or a combination of the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Payments under an income-based 

2 repayment plan under section 493C. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Payments under a standard re4 payment plan under subsection (d)(1)(A), 

5 based on a 10-year repayment period. 

6 ‘‘(iii) Monthly payments under a re7 payment plan under subsection (d)(1) or 

8 (g) of not less than the monthly amount 

9 calculated under subsection (d)(1)(A), 

10 based on a 10-year repayment period. 

11 ‘‘(iv) Payments under an income con12 tingent repayment plan under subsection 

13 (d)(1)(D). 

14 ‘‘(v) Any monthly payment that would 

15 have otherwise been made by the borrower 

16 on 1 or more eligible loans during a period 

17 of forbearance, including— 

18 ‘‘(I) discretionary or mandatory 

19 administrative forbearance; 

20 ‘‘(II) forbearance described in 

21 section 428(c)(3)(A)(i), including for22 bearance because— 

23 ‘‘(aa) the borrower is serv24 ing in a medical or dental intern25 ship or residency program deVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Apr 14, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7877.IH H7877

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1 scribed in section 

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

3 ‘‘(bb) the borrower is serv4 ing in a national service position 

5 for which the borrower receives a 

6 national service educational 

7 award under the National and 

8 Community Service Trust Act of 

9 1993 (42 U.S.C. 12501 et seq.); 

10 or 

11 ‘‘(cc) the borrower is eligible 

12 for interest payments to be made 

13 on such loan for service in the 

14 Armed Forces under section 

15 2174 of title 10, United States 

16 Code, and, pursuant to that eligi17 bility, the interest is being paid 

18 on such loan under subsection 

19 (o); 

20 ‘‘(III) forbearance provided be21 cause the borrower is serving in an 

22 educator residency program; and 

23 ‘‘(IV) forbearance provided to a 

24 borrower due to the borrower’s quali25 fying National Guard service. 


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1 ‘‘(vi) Any monthly payment that 

2 would have otherwise been made by the 

3 borrower on 1 or more eligible loans during 

4 a period of deferment, including— 

5 ‘‘(I) deferment relating to cancer 

6 treatment under subsection (f)(3) or 

7 section 427(a)(2)(C)(v); 

8 ‘‘(II) deferment relating to active 

9 duty during a war or other military 

10 operation or national emergency, or 

11 performing qualifying National Guard 

12 duty during a war or other military 

13 operation or national emergency, 

14 under subsection (f)(2)(C) or section 

15 428(b)(1)(M)(iii); 

16 ‘‘(III) deferment relating to a pe17 riod of unemployment under sub18 section (f)(2)(B) or section 

19 428(b)(1)(M)(ii), or of economic hard20 ship under subsection (f)(2)(D) or 

21 section 428(b)(1)(M)(iv); 

22 ‘‘(IV) deferment provided in con23 nection with services in the Peace 

24 Corps; and 

25 ‘‘(V) deferment provided— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) while the borrower is 

2 carrying at least one-half the 

3 normal full-time work load under 

4 subsection (f)(2)(A) or section 

5 427(a)(2)(C) and employed full6 time in public service; or 

7 ‘‘(bb) in connection with a 

8 graduate student fellowship or 

9 while employed by a qualifying 

10 employer and pursuing a grad11 uate, professional, or certificate 

12 program or in connection with a 

13 rehabilitation training program 

14 under subsection (f)(2)(A) or sec15 tion 427(a)(2)(C). 

16 ‘‘(vii) Any monthly payment that oth17 erwise would have been made by the bor18 rower during a grace period lasting in ex19 cess of 6 consecutive months.’’; 

20 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

21 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; 

22 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO EMPLOY25 MENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) GRACE PERIOD PUBLIC SERVICE EM2 PLOYMENT.—The Secretary shall include any 

3 payments made by a borrower on an eligible 

4 Federal Direct Loan during a 6-month grace 

5 period, as described in section 428(b)(7)(A), 

6 while the borrower was employed full-time in 

7 public service, upon notification by the borrower 

8 of such employment and payments made. 

9 ‘‘(B) AMERICORPS AND PEACE CORPS

10 SERVICE.—For purposes of this subsection, vol11 unteer service as an AmeriCorps or Peace 

12 Corps volunteer, as described in subclause (III) 

13 or (IV) of paragraph (6)(C)(i), shall be deemed 

14 to be employment. 

15 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN LOANS AND

16 BORROWERS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) PARENT PLUS LOANS.—In the case of 

18 a borrower of an eligible Federal Direct Loan 

19 that is on behalf of a student, any public service 

20 employment required under this subsection may 

21 be completed by the borrower or by the student 

22 on whose behalf the loan was made. 

23 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULES FOR FEDERAL DI24 RECT CONSOLIDATION LOANS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A borrower who 

2 has obtained an eligible Federal Direct 

3 Loan that is a Federal Direct Consolida4 tion Loan that includes a loan made, in5 sured, or guaranteed under part B or part 

6 E shall receive credit— 

7 ‘‘(I) under paragraph (1) for any 

8 years of full-time employment in pub9 lic service that occurred while the bor10 rower had a component loan of the 

11 Federal Direct Consolidation Loan; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(II) under paragraph (1)(C) for 

14 any monthly payment described in 

15 such paragraph that was made by, or 

16 credited to, the borrower on a compo17 nent loan of the Federal Direct Con18 solidation Loan. 

19 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULES FOR JOINT BOR20 ROWERS.—The Secretary shall allow the 

21 borrowers of a Joint Consolidation Loan or 

22 a Joint Direct Consolidation Loan who are 

23 employed in a public service job to consoli24 date such loan into a Federal Direct Con25 solidation Loan in order to receive loan 


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1 cancellation pursuant to this subsection.’’; 

2 and 

3 (4) by striking paragraph (5), as redesignated 

4 by paragraph (2), and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

6 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN.— 

7 The term ‘eligible Federal Direct Loan’ means 

8 a Federal Direct Stafford Loan, Federal Direct 

9 Unsubsidized Loan, Federal Direct PLUS Loan 

10 (including such loan made on behalf of a stu11 dent), or Federal Direct Consolidation Loan. 

12 ‘‘(B) FULL-TIME.—The term ‘full-time’, 

13 when used with respect to employment in public 

14 service, means working in public service employ15 ment in one or more jobs for a total of— 

16 ‘‘(i) not less than 30 hours a week; 

17 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any form of edu18 cational public service employment that is 

19 under a contract for not less than 8 

20 months, not less than 30 hours per week 

21 during the contract period; or 

22 ‘‘(iii) in the case of employment as an 

23 adjunct, contingent, or part-time faculty 

24 member, teacher, or lecturer who is paid 

25 solely for the credit hours taught at an inVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Apr 14, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7877.IH H7877

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1 stitution of higher education, the equiva2 lent of 30 hours per week determined by 

3 multiplying each credit or contract hour 

4 taught per week by 3.35. 

5 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC SERVICE.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘public 

7 service’ means— 

8 ‘‘(I) employment with a quali9 fying employer described in clause (i) 

10 or (ii) of subparagraph (D); 

11 ‘‘(II) employment with a quali12 fying employer described in subpara13 graph (D)(iii) that— 

14 ‘‘(aa) provides direct serv15 ices to the public through its em16 ployees; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) has devoted a majority 

18 of its full-time equivalent employ19 ees to working in not less than 1 

20 of the following areas: 

21 ‘‘(AA) Early childhood 

22 education programs. 

23 ‘‘(BB) Emergency man24 agement. 


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1 ‘‘(CC) Law enforce2 ment. 

3 ‘‘(DD) Military service. 

4 ‘‘(EE) Other school5 based services. 

6 ‘‘(FF) Public education 

7 (including higher education). 

8 ‘‘(GG) Public health. 

9 ‘‘(HH) Public interest 

10 law services. 

11 ‘‘(II) Public library 

12 services. 

13 ‘‘(JJ) Public safety. 

14 ‘‘(KK) Public services 

15 for individuals with disabil16 ities or public services for 

17 the elderly. 

18 ‘‘(LL) School library 

19 services; 

20 ‘‘(III) satisfactory service as a 

21 Peace Corps volunteer in accordance 

22 with section 5 of the Peace Corps Act 

23 (22 U.S.C. 2504); or 

24 ‘‘(IV) successful service as a par25 ticipant in a position described in secVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Apr 14, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7877.IH H7877

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1 tion 123 of the National and Commu2 nity Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

3 12573). 

4 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.—For 

5 purposes of clause (i): 

6 ‘‘(I) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

7 SERVICES.—The term ‘emergency 

8 management services’ means services 

9 that help remediate, lessen, or elimi10 nate the effects or potential effects of 

11 emergencies that threaten human life 

12 or health or real property. 

13 ‘‘(II) LAW ENFORCEMENT.—The 

14 term ‘law enforcement’ means services 

15 performed by an employee of a public 

16 service organization that is publicly 

17 funded and whose principal activities 

18 pertain to crime prevention, control or 

19 reduction of crime, or the enforcement 

20 of criminal law. 

21 ‘‘(III) MILITARY SERVICE.—The 

22 term ‘military service’ means pro23 viding service to or on behalf of mem24 bers, veterans, or the families or sur25 vivors of members or veterans of the 


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1 Armed Forces, including the National 

2 Guard, that is provided to a person 

3 because of the person’s status in the 

4 Armed Forces or National Guard. 

5 ‘‘(IV) OTHER SCHOOL-BASED

6 SERVICES.—The term ‘other school7 based services’ means an employee of 

8 a State, or of any political division of 

9 a State, or an employee of a nonprofit 

10 organization, who works in any grade 

11 from prekindergarten through grade 

12 12 in any of the following occupa13 tional specialties: 

14 ‘‘(aa) Paraprofessional serv15 ices, including paraeducator serv16 ices. 

17 ‘‘(bb) Clerical and adminis18 trative services. 

19 ‘‘(cc) Transportation serv20 ices. 

21 ‘‘(dd) Food and nutrition 

22 services. 

23 ‘‘(ee) Custodial and mainte24 nance services. 

25 ‘‘(ff) Security services. 


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1 ‘‘(gg) Health and student 

2 services. 

3 ‘‘(hh) Technical services. 

4 ‘‘(ii) Skilled trades. 

5 ‘‘(V) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—The 

6 term ‘public education’ means— 

7 ‘‘(aa) the provision of edu8 cational enrichment or support to 

9 students in a school or a school10 like setting, including teaching; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(bb) teaching as a full-time 

13 faculty member at a Tribal Col14 lege or University, as defined in 

15 section 316(b), and other faculty 

16 teaching in high-needs subject 

17 areas or areas of shortage (in18 cluding nurse faculty, foreign 

19 language faculty, and part-time 

20 faculty at community colleges), 

21 as determined by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(VI) The term ‘public health’ 

23 means— 

24 ‘‘(aa) services provided by 

25 physicians, nurses (including 


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1 nurses in a clinical setting), and 

2 nurse practitioners; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) services provided by 

4 health care practitioner occupa5 tions, health care support occu6 pations, and counselors, social 

7 workers, and other community 

8 and social service specialist occu9 pations, as those terms are de10 fined by the Bureau of Labor 

11 Statistics. 

12 ‘‘(VII) The term ‘public interest 

13 law’ means legal services or legal ad14 vocacy provided by a nonprofit organi15 zation, but excludes services provided 

16 by individuals who are registered lob17 byists at the Federal, State, or local 

18 level. 

19 ‘‘(VIII) The term ‘public library 

20 services’ means the operation of public 

21 libraries or services that support their 

22 operation. 

23 ‘‘(IX) The term ‘public safety 

24 services’ means services that seek to 


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1 prevent the need for emergency man2 agement services. 

3 ‘‘(X) The term ‘public services 

4 for individuals with disabilities’ means 

5 services performed for, or to assist, 

6 individuals with disabilities (as de7 fined in section 3 of the Americans 

8 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 

9 U.S.C. 12102)) that is provided to an 

10 individual because of the individual’s 

11 status as an individual with a dis12 ability. 

13 ‘‘(XI) The term ‘public service 

14 for the elderly’ means services that 

15 are provided to individuals who are 

16 aged 59.5 years or older and that are 

17 provided to an individual because of 

18 the individual’s status as an individual 

19 of that age, including services related 

20 to retirement plans, pensions, social 

21 security, retiree health plans, or Med22 icaid. 

23 ‘‘(XII) The term ‘school library 

24 services’ means the operations of 


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1 school libraries or services that sup2 port their operation. 

3 ‘‘(D) QUALIFYING EMPLOYER.—The term 

4 ‘qualifying employer’ means— 

5 ‘‘(i) a Federal, State, Tribal, local, 

6 intergovernmental, or regional govern7 mental organization, agency, or entity 

8 based or headquartered in the United 

9 States, including the Armed Forces, Na10 tional Guard, Merchant Marines, or Coast 

11 Guard; 

12 ‘‘(ii) a nonprofit organization that is 

13 qualified under section 501(c)(3) of the In14 ternal Revenue Code of 1986; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) a nonprofit organization that is 

16 qualified under section 501(a) of such 

17 Code, with respect to an employee in public 

18 service employment.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR TEACHERS. 

20 The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 

21 et seq.) is amended— 

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

23 10(g)(2))— 

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

25 after the semicolon at the end; 


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

2 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

3 subparagraph (B); 

4 (2) in paragraph (6) of section 455(m) (20 

5 U.S.C. 1087e(m)), as redesignated by section 3(2), 

6 by striking ‘‘both this subsection and section 428J, 

7 428K, 428L, or 460’’ and inserting ‘‘both this sub8 section and section 428K or 428L’’; and 

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

10 1087j(g)(2))— 

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

12 after the semicolon at the end; 

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

14 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

15 subparagraph (B). 

Æ 


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