II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3760 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for a percentage 

of student loan forgiveness for public service employment, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 19, 2020 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. UDALL, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. WARREN, Ms. 

SMITH, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. MARKEY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. HIRONO, and 

Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide 

for a percentage of student loan forgiveness for public 

service employment, 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 ‘‘Strengthening Loan 

5 Forgiveness for Public Servants During the COVID–19 

6 Crisis Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE SENATE. 

8 It is the sense of the Senate that— 


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1 (1) the novel coronavirus of 2019 (COVID–19) 

2 is imposing a burden on many individuals, including 

3 doctors, nurses, and teachers, who are participating 

4 in the public service loan forgiveness program under 

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

6 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)); and 

7 (2) restructuring the loan forgiveness provided 

8 through such program and accommodating disrup9 tions that might occur due to the impact of the novel 

10 coronavirus of 2019 (COVID–19) are necessary. 

11 SEC. 3. PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 455(m) of the Higher 

13 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) is amend14 ed— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

16 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, except as provided 

17 in paragraph (5),’’ after ‘‘on any eligible Federal Di18 rect Loan not in default’’; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(5) LOAN CANCELLATION FOR NEW LOANS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning after the 

22 date of enactment of the Strengthening Loan 

23 Forgiveness for Public Servants During the 

24 COVID–19 Crisis Act, after the conclusion of 

25 each employment period in a public service job, 


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1 as described in subparagraph (B), the Secretary 

2 shall cancel the percent specified in such sub3 paragraph of the total amount due on any eligi4 ble Federal Direct Loan made after the date of 

5 enactment of the Strengthening Loan Forgive6 ness for Public Servants During the COVID–19 

7 Crisis Act for a borrower who is employed in 

8 such public service job and submits an employ9 ment certification form described in subpara10 graph (C). 

11 ‘‘(B) PERCENT AMOUNT.—The percent of 

12 a loan that shall be canceled under subpara13 graph (A) is as follows: 

14 ‘‘(i) In the case of a borrower who 

15 completes 2 years of employment in a pub16 lic service job, 15 percent of the total 

17 amount due on the eligible Federal Direct 

18 Loan on the date the borrower commenced 

19 employment in such public service job. 

20 ‘‘(ii) In the case of a borrower who 

21 completes 4 years of employment in a pub22 lic service job, 15 percent of the total 

23 amount due on the eligible Federal Direct 

24 Loan on the date the borrower commenced 

25 employment in such public service job. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) In the case of a borrower who 

2 completes 6 years of employment in a pub3 lic service job, 20 percent of the total 

4 amount due on the eligible Federal Direct 

5 Loan on the date the borrower commenced 

6 employment in such public service job. 

7 ‘‘(iv) In the case of a borrower who 

8 completes 8 years of employment in a pub9 lic service job, 20 percent of the total 

10 amount due on the eligible Federal Direct 

11 Loan on the date the borrower commenced 

12 employment in such public service job. 

13 ‘‘(v) In the case of a borrower who 

14 completes 10 years of employment in a 

15 public service job, 30 percent of the total 

16 amount due on the eligible Federal Direct 

17 Loan on the date the borrower commenced 

18 employment in such public service job. 

19 ‘‘(C) EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATION

20 FORM.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive 

22 loan cancellation under this paragraph, a 

23 borrower shall submit to the Secretary an 

24 employment certification form that is de25 veloped by the Secretary and includes selfVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:16 Jun 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3760.IS S3760

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1 certification of employment and a separate 

2 part for employer certification that indi3 cates the dates of employment. 

4 ‘‘(ii) DEFERMENT.—If a borrower 

5 submits to the Secretary the employment 

6 certification form described in clause (i), 

7 during the period in which the borrower is 

8 employed in a public service job for which 

9 loan cancellation is eligible under this 

10 paragraph, the borrower’s eligible Federal 

11 Direct Loan shall be placed in deferment. 

12 ‘‘(D) INTEREST CANCELED.—If a portion 

13 of a loan is canceled under this paragraph for 

14 any year, the entire amount of interest on such 

15 loan that accrues for such year shall be can16 celed.’’. 

17 (b) SPECIAL RULE FOR COVID–19 EMPLOYMENT

18 DISRUPTIONS.— 

19 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

20 (A) EMPLOYMENT DISRUPTION.—The term 

21 ‘‘employment disruption’’ means a lapse in an 

22 individual’s employment that is related to the 

23 novel coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID–19), 

24 such as a furlough or reduction in force by the 


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1 employer or the individual’s resignation due to 

2 illness or family caregiving responsibilities. 

3 (B) PUBLIC SERVICE JOB.—The term 

4 ‘‘public service job’’ has the meaning given the 

5 term in section 455(m)(3) of the Higher Edu6 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)(3)). 

7 (C) QUALIFYING EMERGENCY.—The term 

8 ‘‘qualifying emergency’’ has the meaning given 

9 the term in section 3502 of division A of the 

10 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security 

11 Act (Public Law 116–136). 

12 (D) QUALIFYING INDIVIDUAL.—The term 

13 ‘‘qualifying individual’’ means an individual 

14 who— 

15 (i) has a loan that qualifies for public 

16 service loan forgiveness under section 

17 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 

18 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)); and 

19 (ii) during the qualifying emergency 

20 period— 

21 (I) was employed in a public 

22 service job; and 

23 (II) experiences an employment 

24 disruption with respect to the public 


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1 service job and no longer is employed 

2 in a public service job. 

3 (2) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), in 

4 administering the public service loan forgiveness pro5 gram under section 455(m) of the Higher Education 

6 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) with respect to 

7 periods of employment and payments due during the 

8 qualifying emergency— 

9 (A) each qualifying individual shall be 

10 deemed an individual employed in a public serv11 ice job during the period of the qualifying emer12 gency for purposes of such program; and 

13 (B) any monthly payment made by a quali14 fying individual during the qualifying emer15 gency (including a payment deemed made under 

16 section 3513(c) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, 

17 and Economic Security Act (Public Law 116– 

18 136)) shall be deemed to be a monthly payment 

19 made by an individual employed in a public 

20 service job for purposes of such program. 

21 (3) SPECIAL RULE.—Paragraph (2) shall only 

22 apply to a qualifying individual who resumes employ23 ment in any public service job by the date that is 6 

24 months after the last day of the qualifying emer25 gency, except that any qualifying individual who, as 


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1 a result of the application of paragraph (2), would 

2 have completed the requirements for full or partial 

3 loan cancellation under paragraph (2) or (5) of sec4 tion 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

5 (as amended by this Act) during the qualifying 

6 emergency, shall receive such loan cancellation with7 out any required resumption of public service job 

8 employment. 

9 (4) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 30 days after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

11 Education shall develop and make available guidance 

12 for qualifying individuals regarding the assistance 

13 available under this subsection. 

Æ 


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