I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2034 

To direct the Secretary of Education to forgive the Federal student loans 

of borrowers meeting certain income requirements, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 18, 2021 

Mr. LAWSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Education to forgive the Federal 

student loans of borrowers meeting certain income requirements, 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 ‘‘Income-Driven Student 

5 Loan Forgiveness Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR BOR2 ROWERS MEETING CERTAIN INCOME RE3 QUIREMENTS. 

4 (a) FORGIVENESS REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding any 

5 other provision of law, the Secretary of Education shall 

6 forgive the outstanding balance of principal, interest, and 

7 fees due on the eligible Federal student loans of borrowers 

8 who meet the requirements of subsection (b). 

9 (b) ELIGIBILITY.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—A borrower is eligible to re11 ceive forgiveness under this section if, at the time of 

12 application for forgiveness, such borrower— 

13 (A) has an eligible Federal student loan in 

14 repayment; 

15 (B) filed a Federal income tax return for 

16 the most recently ended tax year; 

17 (C)(i) is employed; or 

18 (ii) if not employed, was employed during 

19 the period of three years immediately preceding 

20 March 1, 2020; and 

21 (D) meets the income requirements speci22 fied in paragraph (2). 

23 (2) INCOME REQUIREMENTS.—The income re24 quirements specified in this subsection are the fol25 lowing: 


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1 (A) In the case of borrower who is not 

2 married, the adjusted gross income of the bor3 rower does not exceed $100,000. 

4 (B) In the case of a borrower who is mar5 ried and files a Federal income tax return joint6 ly with the borrower’s spouse, the adjusted 

7 gross income of the borrower and the bor8 rower’s spouse does not exceed $200,000. 

9 (C) In the case of a borrower who is mar10 ried and files a Federal income tax return sepa11 rately from the borrower’s spouse, the adjusted 

12 gross income of the borrower does not exceed 

13 $100,000. The income of a borrower’s spouse 

14 shall not be considered in making the deter15 mination under this subparagraph. 

16 (3) RETURN INFORMATION.—The determina17 tions under paragraph (2) shall be based on the 

18 Federal income tax return filed by the borrower for 

19 the most recent tax year ending before the date of 

20 the borrower’s application for forgiveness under this 

21 section. 

22 (c) METHOD OF LOAN FORGIVENESS.—As soon as 

23 practicable after the Secretary of Education confirms that 

24 an applicant meets the requirements of subsection (b), the 

25 Secretary of Education shall— 


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1 (1) for each eligible Federal student loan of the 

2 borrower that is held by the Department of Edu3 cation, cancel the outstanding balance of principal, 

4 interest, and fees due on the loan; and 

5 (2) for each eligible Federal student loan of the 

6 borrower that is not held by the Department of Edu7 cation— 

8 (A) through the holder of a loan, assume 

9 the obligation to repay the outstanding balance 

10 of principal, interest, and fees due on the loan; 

11 and 

12 (B) upon assuming such obligation, cancel 

13 the outstanding balance of such principal, inter14 est, and fees. 

15 (d) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive forgive16 ness under this section a borrower shall submit to the Sec17 retary of Education an application at such time, in such 

18 manner, and containing such information as the Secretary 

19 may require. 

20 (e) REPAYMENT REFUNDS PROHIBITED.—Nothing 

21 in this section shall be construed to authorize the refund 

22 of any payments made by a borrower on an eligible Fed23 eral student before the date on which the borrower’s loans 

24 are forgiven in accordance with this section. 


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1 (f) EXCLUSION FROM TAXABLE INCOME.—The 

2 amount of a borrower’s eligible Federal student loans for3 given under this section shall not be included in the gross 

4 income of the borrower for purposes of the Internal Rev5 enue Code of 1986. 

6 (g) DETERMINATION OF INELIGIBILITY.—If the Sec7 retary of Education denies a borrower’s application for 

8 forgiveness under this section, the Secretary shall notify 

9 the borrower that the borrower’s application was denied 

10 and indicate the specific reasons for such denial. 

11 SEC. 3. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC. 

12 Not later than 15 days after the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in consultation 

14 with institutions of higher education and lenders and hold15 ers of Federal student loans, shall take such actions as 

16 may be necessary to ensure that borrowers who have out17 standing eligible Federal student loans are aware of the 

18 loan forgiveness program authorized by this Act. Such in19 formation shall— 

20 (1) be presented in a form that is widely avail21 able to the public, especially to borrowers with eligi22 ble Federal student loans; 

23 (2) be easily understandable; and 

24 (3) clearly notify borrowers that to be consid25 ered for loan forgiveness under this Act, borrowers 


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1 must submit an application to the Secretary of Edu2 cation. 

3 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.—The term ‘‘ad6 justed gross income’’ has the meaning given that 

7 term in section 62 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

8 1986 (26 U.S.C. 62). 

9 (2) ELIGIBLE FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN.—The 

10 term ‘‘eligible Federal student loan’’ means a loan— 

11 (A) received by a borrower before the date 

12 of enactment of this Act; 

13 (B) used to pay for— 

14 (i) the undergraduate education of the 

15 borrower; or 

16 (ii) in the case of a loan made to a 

17 parent on behalf a dependent student, the 

18 undergraduate education of such depend19 ent student; and 

20 (C) made, insured, or guaranteed under— 

21 (i) part B, part D, or part E of title 

22 IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

23 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), including a con24 solidation loan (to the extent that such 


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1 consolidation loan was used to repay loans 

2 for undergraduate education); or 

3 (ii) part E of title VIII of the Public 

4 Health Service Act. 

5 (3) FEES.—The term ‘‘fees’’ means any 

6 amounts owed by a borrower, other than principal 

7 and interest, on an eligible Federal student loan, in8 cluding the amounts of any outstanding administra9 tive fees, late charges, and collection costs. 

10 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

11 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

12 meaning given that term in section 102 of the High13 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

14 (5) UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION.—The term 

15 ‘‘undergraduate education’’ means a postsecondary 

16 program of study at an institution of higher edu17 cation that leads to an associate or baccalaureate de18 gree. 

Æ 


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