Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 168 / Thursday, August 31, 2023 / Proposed Rules 60163 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

34 CFR Chapter VI 

[Docket ID ED–2023–OPE–0123] 

Negotiated Rulemaking Committee; 

Negotiator Nominations and Schedule 

of Committee Meetings 

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary 

Education, Department of Education. 

ACTION: Intent to establish rulemaking 

committee. 

SUMMARY: We announce our intention to 

establish a negotiated rulemaking 

committee to prepare proposed 

regulations for the Federal Student Aid 

programs authorized under title IV of 

the Higher Education Act of 1965, as 

amended (HEA). The committee will 

include representatives of organizations 

or groups with interests that are 

significantly affected by the subject 

matter of the proposed regulations. We 

request nominations for individual 

negotiators who represent key 

stakeholder constituencies for the issues 

to be negotiated to serve on the 

committee. The Department has also set 

a schedule for committee meetings. 

DATES: We must receive your 

nominations for negotiators to serve on 

the committee on or before September 

14, 2023. The dates and times of the 

committee meetings are set out in the 

Schedule for Negotiations section in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. All 

meetings will be virtual. 

ADDRESSES: Please email your 

nominations for negotiators to 

negregnominations@ed.gov. If you are 

unable to email your nomination, please 

contact Jean-Didier Gaina. Telephone: 

(202) 987–1333. Email: JeanDidier.Gaina@ed.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information about negotiated 

rulemaking, see ‘‘The Negotiated 

Rulemaking Process for Title IV 

Regulations—Frequently Asked 

Questions’’ at https://www2.ed.gov/ 

policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/ 

hea08/neg-reg-faq.html. For information 

about the content of this document, 

including additional information about 

the negotiated rulemaking process, 

please contact Jean-Didier Gaina. 

Telephone: (202) 987–1333. Email: JeanDidier.Gaina@ed.gov, for information on 

the nomination submission process, 

Email: negregnominations@ed.gov. 

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or 

have a speech disability and wish to 

access telecommunications relay 

services, please dial 7–1–1. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On July 6, 2023, we published in the 

Federal Register (88 FR 43069) an 

announcement of our intent to establish 

a negotiated rulemaking committee 

under section 492 of the HEA to develop 

proposed regulations related to section 

432(a) of the HEA, which relate to the 

modification, waiver, release, or 

compromise of Federal student loans by 

the Department. We also announced a 

public hearing at which interested 

parties could comment on the topics for 

negotiation suggested by the Department 

and suggest additional topics for 

consideration for action by the 

negotiated rulemaking committee. That 

hearing took place virtually on July 18, 

2023. 

You may view written comments 

submitted in response to the 

aforementioned Federal Register notice 

through the Federal eRulemaking Portal 

at www.regulations.gov. Instructions for 

finding comments are available on the 

site under ‘‘FAQ.’’ Enter Docket ID ED– 

2023–OPE–0123 in the search box to 

locate the appropriate docket. 

Committee Topics 

After considering the information 

received at the public hearing and the 

written comments, we have decided to 

establish the Student Loan Relief 

Committee (Committee) to address the 

topics of the authorities granted to the 

Secretary in the HEA, including the 

provisions related to the modification, 

waiver, release, or compromise of 

Federal student loans in section 432(a) 

of the HEA. Depending on the outcome 

of the discussions during negotiated 

rulemaking and the details of the 

proposed regulations, different sections 

in 34 CFR parts 30, 682, and 685 may 

be revised through the final regulations. 

We intend to select negotiators for the 

Committee who represent the interests 

of those significantly affected by the 

topics proposed for negotiation. In so 

doing, we will comply with the 

requirement in section 492(b)(1) of the 

HEA that the individuals selected must 

have demonstrated expertise or 

experience in the relevant topics 

proposed for negotiations. We will also 

select negotiators who reflect the 

diversity among program participants, 

in accordance with section 492(b)(1) of 

the HEA. Our goal is to establish a 

committee that will allow significantly 

affected parties to be represented while 

keeping the size manageable. 

We generally select a primary and 

alternate negotiator for each 

constituency represented on a 

committee. The primary negotiator 

participates for the purpose of 

determining consensus. The alternate 

participates for the purpose of 

determining consensus in the absence of 

the primary negotiator. The Department 

will provide more detailed information 

to both primary and alternate 

negotiators selected to participate on the 

Committee about the logistics and 

protocols of the meetings. 

Members of the public may observe 

the Committee meetings, will have 

access to individuals representing their 

constituencies, and may be able to 

participate in informal working groups 

on issues between the meetings. 

Members of the public will have 30 

minutes at the end of each day to 

provide comments. 

Constituencies for Negotiator 

Nominations 

We have identified the following 

constituencies as having interests that 

are significantly affected by the topics 

proposed for negotiation. We plan to 

include negotiators who represent these 

constituencies. We particularly 

encourage individuals or organizations 

representing the interests of historically 

underserved or low-income 

communities to nominate themselves. 

Nominations should include evidence 

of the nominee’s specific knowledge of 

the modification, waiver, release, or 

compromise of Federal student loans. 

The Department strongly encourages 

nominees to list all constituencies under 

which they would like to be considered. 

The Department reserves the discretion 

to place a nominee in a constituency 

based upon their background and 

experience even if the individual was 

not nominated for that specific category. 

Constituencies for the Committee are: 

(1) Student loan borrowers who 

attended programs of two years or less. 

(2) Student loan borrowers who 

attended four-year programs. 

(3) Student loan borrowers who 

attended graduate programs. 

(4) Currently enrolled postsecondary 

education students. 

(5) U.S. military service members, 

veterans, or groups representing them. 

(6) Civil rights organizations. 

(7) Legal assistance organizations that 

represent students or borrowers. 

(8) State officials, including State 

higher education executive officers, 

State authorizing agencies, and State 

regulators of institutions of higher 

education. 

(9) State attorneys general. 

(10) Public institutions of higher 

education, including two-year and fouryear institutions. 

(11) Private nonprofit institutions of 

higher education. 

(12) Proprietary institutions. 


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60164 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 168 / Thursday, August 31, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

(13) Historically Black Colleges and 

Universities, Tribal Colleges and 

Universities, and Minority-serving 

institutions (institutions of higher 

education eligible to receive Federal 

assistance under title III, parts A and F, 

and title V of the HEA). 

(14) Federal Family Education Loan 

(FFEL) lenders, servicers, or guaranty 

agencies. 

The Department is particularly 

interested in ensuring the primary and 

alternate negotiators who represent the 

different borrower and student 

constituencies reflect a variety of 

experiences with student loans and 

postsecondary education, including 

attending different types of institutions, 

for different types of programs 

borrowing a Parent PLUS loan to pay for 

a dependent student’s education, 

borrowing either Direct or FFEL loans, 

and receiving a Pell grant. We also seek 

negotiators who have borrowed varied 

amounts and have varied repayment 

histories. We encourage nominations 

that provide the Department with 

diverse information about borrowing 

and repayment experiences. 

The goal of the committee is to 

develop proposed regulations that 

reflect a final consensus of the 

committee. Consensus means that there 

is no dissent by any member of a 

negotiating committee, including the 

committee member representing the 

Department. 

A negotiator is expected to represent 

the interests of their constituency and to 

participate in the negotiations in a 

manner consistent with the goal of 

developing proposed regulations on 

which the committee will reach 

consensus. If consensus is reached, all 

members of the organization or group 

represented by a negotiator are bound 

by the consensus and are prohibited 

from commenting negatively on the 

resulting proposed regulations. The 

Department will not consider any such 

negative comments on the proposed 

regulations that are submitted by a 

member of such an organization. 

Nominations 

We request that nominations include 

the information described in this 

section. 

(1) The name of the nominee; 

(2) The name of the constituency (or 

constituencies) for which the nominee 

is being nominated (see Constituencies 

for Negotiator Nominations); 

(3) The nominee’s place of 

employment or institution at which they 

are or were enrolled and, if different, the 

organization the nominee represents; 

(4) A resume or evidence of the 

nominee’s expertise and experience in 

the topics proposed for negotiations; 

and 

(5) The nominee’s contact 

information, including email address, 

telephone number, and mailing address. 

Please see the ADDRESSES section for 

submission information. We will 

confirm receipt of nominations to the 

submitter. The Department will provide 

additional information to those we 

select to serve as negotiators. Once 

complete, a list of negotiators will be 

posted here: https://www2.ed.gov/ 

policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/ 

2023/index.html. 

l. The Department will also provide 

information at that site about how any 

committee vacancies can be filled at the 

beginning of the first committee 

meeting. 

Schedule for Negotiations 

The Committee will meet for three 

sessions on the following dates: 

Session 1: October 10–11, 2023. 

Session 2: November 6–7, 2023. 

Session 3: December 11–12, 2023. 

Session times will be from 10 a.m. to 

12 p.m. and 1 to 4 p.m., with a public 

comment period from approximately 

3:30 to 4 p.m., Eastern time. 

All sessions will be conducted 

virtually and available for the public to 

view. Individuals who wish to observe 

the committee meetings will be required 

to register for each session they would 

like to observe. We will post registration 

links closer to the start of negotiations 

on our website at www2.ed.gov/policy/ 

highered/reg/hearulemaking/2023/ 

index.html. The Department will also 

post recordings and transcripts of the 

meetings on that site. 

At the end of each day (except for the 

final day of the final session), the 

Department will reserve 30 minutes for 

public comment. We will provide 

information on how to request time to 

speak on our website at www2.ed.gov/ 

policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/ 

2023/index.html. 

Accessible Format: On request to the 

program contact person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, 

individuals with disabilities can obtain 

this document in an accessible format. 

The Department will provide the 

requestor with an accessible format that 

may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or 

text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 

file, braille, large print, audiotape, or 

compact disc, or other accessible format. 

Electronic Access to this Document: 

The official version of this document is 

the document published in the Federal 

Register. You may access the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the 

Code of Federal Regulations at 

www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can 

view this document, as well as all other 

documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Portable Document Format 

(PDF). To use PDF, you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at the site. You may also 

access the documents of the Department 

published in the Federal Register by 

using the article search feature at 

www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, 

through the advanced search feature at 

this site, you can limit your search to 

documents published by the 

Department. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1098a. 

Nasser H. Paydar, 

Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary 

Education. 

[FR Doc. 2023–18853 Filed 8–30–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION 

SAFETY BOARD 

49 CFR Part 831 

[Docket No.: NTSB–2023–0007] 

RIN 3147–AA28 

Authority of NTSB in Railroad, 

Pipeline, and Hazardous Materials 

Investigations 

AGENCY: National Transportation Safety 

Board (NTSB). 

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed 

rulemaking (ANPRM). 

SUMMARY: The National Transportation 

Safety Board (NTSB) is publishing this 

advance notice of proposed rulemaking 

(ANPRM) to seek public feedback on 

whether it should define the term 

‘‘substantial property damage’’ as it 

relates to the agency’s authority to 

investigate railroad accidents. Neither 

the agency’s statute nor the regulation 

currently defines this term, thus, the 

NTSB seeks comments on whether 

defining ‘‘substantial property damage’’ 

would better clarify the scope of 

regulatory coverage for its railroad 

investigations. The issues raised in the 

comments submitted in response to this 

ANPRM will inform whether and how 

the NTSB will define this term in its 

regulation. 

DATES: Send comments on or before 

October 30, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

identified by Docket Number (No.) 

NTSB–2023–0007, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: 

https://www.regulations.gov. 

• Email: rulemaking@ntsb.gov. 


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