I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4391 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modernize and improve 

the public service loan forgiveness program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 

Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. CISNEROS, Mrs. 

MCBATH, and Mr. COX of California) 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 modernize 

and improve the public service loan forgiveness program, 

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 Loan 

5 Forgiveness Modernization Act’’ or the ‘‘PSLF Mod6 ernization Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REPAYMENT PLAN FOR PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOY2 EES. 

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

4 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para6 graph (4); and 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2), the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM MODERNIZATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) DATABASE OF PUBLIC SERVICE EM11 PLOYERS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Sec13 retary, in consultation with the Commis14 sioner of the Internal Revenue Service, 

15 shall establish and regularly update a com16 prehensive database that identifies— 

17 ‘‘(I) each qualified public service 

18 employer; and 

19 ‘‘(II) each position offered by 

20 such employer that is a public service 

21 job. 

22 ‘‘(ii) ACCESSIBILITY.—The database 

23 established under clause (i) shall be made 

24 available in an easily searchable format on 

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1 ment of Education and via a free and se2 cure mobile software application. 

3 ‘‘(B) EMPLOYER SELF-CERTIFICATION.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

5 shall establish a process through which an 

6 employer may electronically submit to the 

7 Secretary a certification that the employer 

8 is a qualified public service employer. 

9 ‘‘(ii) SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND

10 VERIFICATION.—The Secretary shall re11 view each self-certification submitted under 

12 clause (i) to verify whether the employer 

13 concerned is a qualified public service em14 ployer. 

15 ‘‘(iii) PSLF CERTIFICATION SEAL.— 

16 An employer verified by the Secretary 

17 under clause (ii) shall receive permission to 

18 use, for informational and marketing pur19 poses, a graphic seal-of-approval developed 

20 by the Secretary to indicate the employer’s 

21 status as a qualified public service em22 ployer. 

23 ‘‘(C) CERTIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT.— 

24 ‘‘(i) FORMS AND SIGNATURES.—The 

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1 quired to certify a borrower’s employment 

2 in a public service job are available to bor3 rowers and employers— 

4 ‘‘(I) on a publicly accessible 

5 website of the Department of Edu6 cation; 

7 ‘‘(II) via a free and secure mobile 

8 software application; and 

9 ‘‘(III) in traditional hard copy 

10 format. 

11 ‘‘(ii) ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE AND

12 SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall estab13 lish a process that enables borrowers and 

14 employers— 

15 ‘‘(I) to electronically sign any 

16 forms required to certify a borrower’s 

17 employment in a public service job; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(II) to submit such forms to the 

20 Department of Education through an 

21 online portal or via a free and secure 

22 mobile software application. 

23 ‘‘(iii) NOTICE OF RECERTIFI24 CATION.—In the case of a borrower who 

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1 cation of employment under this section, 

2 the Secretary shall provide notice to the 

3 borrower of the option to recertify such 

4 employment not later than 60 days before 

5 the expiration of the one year period fol6 lowing the date of the borrower’s most re7 cently submitted employment certification. 

8 The Secretary shall provide such notice to 

9 a borrower via email and regular mail. 

10 ‘‘(D) STATEMENT OF QUALIFYING PAY11 MENTS.—On an annual basis, the Secretary 

12 shall provide to each borrower of an eligible 

13 Federal Direct Loan who has submitted an an14 nual certification of employment under this sec15 tion the following information: 

16 ‘‘(i) The number of monthly payments 

17 made by the borrower on each eligible Fed18 eral Direct Loan of the borrower. 

19 ‘‘(ii) The number of such payments 

20 that qualify as monthly payments under 

21 paragraph (1)(A). 

22 ‘‘(iii) The number of monthly pay23 ments under paragraph (1)(A) remaining 

24 on such loan before the borrower is eligible 

25 for loan cancellation under paragraph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(E) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

2 ‘‘(i) The term ‘Secretary’ means the 

3 Secretary of Education acting through the 

4 Chief Operating Officer of the Office of 

5 Federal Student Aid. 

6 ‘‘(ii) The term ‘qualified public service 

7 employer’ means an employer that offers 

8 employment in a position that is a public 

9 service job.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. APPLICATION PROCESS FOR TEMPORARY EX11 PANDED PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVE12 NESS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi14 sion of law, the Secretary of Education shall not require 

15 a borrower to apply for and be denied loan cancellation 

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

17 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) as a condition of eligibility 

18 for loan forgiveness under the programs specified in sub19 section (b). 

20 (b) PROGRAMS SPECIFIED.—The programs specified 

21 in this subsection are the programs of student loan for22 giveness commonly known as ‘‘Temporary Expanded Pub23 lic Service Loan Forgiveness’’ established under the fol24 lowing provisions of law: 


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1 (1) Section 313 of the Department of Defense 

2 and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Edu3 cation Appropriations Act, 2019 and Continuing Ap4 propriations Act, 2019 (Public Law 115–245). 

5 (2) Section 315 of the Consolidated Appropria6 tions Act, 2018 (Public Law 115–141). 

7 (c) ONLINE HELP TOOL.—Not later than 180 days 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

9 of Education shall develop, and make available on a pub10 licly accessible website, an online tool designed to help bor11 rowers— 

12 (1) learn more about the Temporary Expanded 

13 Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program; 

14 (2) determine their eligibility for forgiveness 

15 under the program; and 

16 (3) identify any requirements for participation 

17 in the program, including any application require18 ments. 

Æ 


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