I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4113 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2019 

Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

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 ‘‘Public Service Pays 

5 Off Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM. 

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

8 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) is amended— 


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

2 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or paragraph (5), 

3 as applicable,’’ after ‘‘paragraph (2)’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘After’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (5), 

6 after’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(5) LOAN CANCELLATION FOR PARTIAL SERV9 ICE.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para11 graph (2), beginning on the date of enactment 

12 of the Public Service Pays Off Act, the Sec13 retary shall cancel the obligation to repay the 

14 balance of principal and interest due on the eli15 gible Federal Direct Loans made to a borrower 

16 under this part in accordance with this para17 graph. 

18 ‘‘(B) NEW MONTHLY PAYMENTS.—For a 

19 borrower of an eligible Federal Direct Loan 

20 who begins making qualifying monthly pay21 ments under paragraph (1) on or after the date 

22 of enactment of the Public Service Pays Off Act 

23 and who is employed in a public service job and 

24 submits an employment certification form de25 scribed in clause (F), the Secretary shall cancel, 


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1 after the conclusion of each employment period 

2 in such public service job, as described in clause 

3 (D)— 

4 ‘‘(i) the percent specified in such sub5 clause (D) of the total amount due on the 

6 eligible Federal Direct Loans made to the 

7 borrower under this part, based on the 

8 length of such employment period; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the applicable amount of interest 

10 that accrued during such employment pe11 riod, in accordance with subclause (E). 

12 ‘‘(C) PRIOR MONTHLY PAYMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) ELECTION.—A borrower of an el14 igible Federal Direct Loan who has made 

15 one or more monthly payments under 

16 paragraph (1) before the date of enact17 ment of the Public Service Pays Off Act 

18 and who is employed in a public service job 

19 may elect to have the Secretary cancel 

20 such eligible Federal Direct Loan through 

21 partial repayments after completion of 

22 each employment period in accordance with 

23 this paragraph (including submission of an 

24 employment certification form described in 

25 clause (F)), or in full after the completion 


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1 of the required employment period and 120 

2 monthly payments in accordance with 

3 paragraph (2). 

4 ‘‘(ii) NO DOUBLE CANCELLATION.—A 

5 borrower shall not have eligible Federal Di6 rect Loans cancelled under both paragraph 

7 (2) and this paragraph, but a borrower 

8 who was determined to be ineligible for 

9 cancellation under paragraph (2) before 

10 the date of enactment of the Public Service 

11 Pays Off Act may submit an employment 

12 certification form described in clause (F) 

13 and request cancellation for a public serv14 ice job under this paragraph. 

15 ‘‘(D) PERCENT AMOUNT.—The percent of 

16 a loan that shall be canceled under this para17 graph for an employment period is as follows: 

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

19 completes 2 years of employment in a pub20 lic service job, 15 percent of the total 

21 amount due on the eligible Federal Direct 

22 Loan on the date the borrower commenced 

23 employment in such public service job. 

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

25 completes 4 years of employment in a pubVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:36 Aug 15, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4113.IH H4113

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1 lic service job, 15 percent of the total 

2 amount due on the eligible Federal Direct 

3 Loan on the date the borrower commenced 

4 employment in such public service job. 

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

6 completes 6 years of employment in a pub7 lic service job, 20 percent of the total 

8 amount due on the eligible Federal Direct 

9 Loan on the date the borrower commenced 

10 employment in such public service job. 

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

12 completes 8 years of employment in a pub13 lic service job, 20 percent of the total 

14 amount due on the eligible Federal Direct 

15 Loan on the date the borrower commenced 

16 employment in such public service job. 

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

18 completes 10 years of employment in a 

19 public service job, the amount remaining of 

20 the total amount due on the eligible Fed21 eral Direct Loan on the date the borrower 

22 commenced employment in such public 

23 service job. 

24 ‘‘(E) INTEREST CANCELED.—If a portion 

25 of a loan is canceled under this paragraph for 


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1 a period of employment in a public service job, 

2 the entire amount of interest on such loan that 

3 accrued during such period shall be canceled. 

4 ‘‘(F) EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATION

5 FORM.—In order to receive loan cancellation 

6 under this paragraph, a borrower shall submit 

7 to the Secretary an employment certification 

8 form that is developed by the Secretary and in9 cludes self-certification of employment and a 

10 separate part for employer certification that in11 dicates the dates of employment.’’. 

Æ 


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