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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Service Loan 
Forgiveness Modernization Act’’ or the ‘‘PSLF Mod-
ernization Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. REPAYMENT PLAN FOR PUBLIC SERVICE EMPLOY-
EES. 
Section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (4); and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2), the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) PROGRAM MODERNIZATION.— 
‘‘(A) DATABASE OF PUBLIC SERVICE EM-
PLOYERS.— 
‘‘(i) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—The 
Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Commis-
sioner of the Internal Revenue Service, 
shall establish and regularly update a com-
prehensive database that identifies— 
‘‘(I) each qualified public service 
employer; and 
‘‘(II) each position offered by 
such employer that is a public service 
job. 
‘‘(ii) ACCESSIBILITY.—The database 
established under clause (i) shall be made 
available in an easily searchable format on 
a publicly accessible website of the Depart-
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ment of Education and via a free and se-
cure mobile software application. 
‘‘(B) EMPLOYER SELF-CERTIFICATION.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary 
shall establish a process through which an 
employer may electronically submit to the 
Secretary a certification that the employer 
is a qualified public service employer. 
‘‘(ii) 
SECRETARIAL
REVIEW
AND 
VERIFICATION.—The Secretary shall re-
view each self-certification submitted under 
clause (i) to verify whether the employer 
concerned is a qualified public service em-
ployer. 
‘‘(iii) PSLF CERTIFICATION SEAL.— 
An employer verified by the Secretary 
under clause (ii) shall receive permission to 
use, for informational and marketing pur-
poses, a graphic seal-of-approval developed 
by the Secretary to indicate the employer’s 
status as a qualified public service em-
ployer. 
‘‘(C) CERTIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT.— 
‘‘(i) FORMS
AND
SIGNATURES.—The 
Secretary shall ensure that any forms re-
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quired to certify a borrower’s employment 
in a public service job are available to bor-
rowers and employers— 
‘‘(I) on a publicly accessible 
website of the Department of Edu-
cation; 
‘‘(II) via a free and secure mobile 
software application; and 
‘‘(III) in traditional hard copy 
format. 
‘‘(ii) ELECTRONIC
SIGNATURE
AND 
SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish a process that enables borrowers and 
employers— 
‘‘(I) to electronically sign any 
forms required to certify a borrower’s 
employment in a public service job; 
and 
‘‘(II) to submit such forms to the 
Department of Education through an 
online portal or via a free and secure 
mobile software application. 
‘‘(iii) 
NOTICE
OF
RECERTIFI-
CATION.—In the case of a borrower who 
has previously submitted an annual certifi-
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cation of employment under this section, 
the Secretary shall provide notice to the 
borrower of the option to recertify such 
employment not later than 60 days before 
the expiration of the one year period fol-
lowing the date of the borrower’s most re-
cently submitted employment certification. 
The Secretary shall provide such notice to 
a borrower via email and regular mail. 
‘‘(D) STATEMENT
OF
QUALIFYING
PAY-
MENTS.—On an annual basis, the Secretary 
shall provide to each borrower of an eligible 
Federal Direct Loan who has submitted an an-
nual certification of employment under this sec-
tion the following information: 
‘‘(i) The number of monthly payments 
made by the borrower on each eligible Fed-
eral Direct Loan of the borrower. 
‘‘(ii) The number of such payments 
that qualify as monthly payments under 
paragraph (1)(A). 
‘‘(iii) The number of monthly pay-
ments under paragraph (1)(A) remaining 
on such loan before the borrower is eligible 
for loan cancellation under paragraph (2). 
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‘‘(E) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 
‘‘(i) The term ‘Secretary’ means the 
Secretary of Education acting through the 
Chief Operating Officer of the Office of 
Federal Student Aid. 
‘‘(ii) The term ‘qualified public service 
employer’ means an employer that offers 
employment in a position that is a public 
service job.’’. 
SEC. 3. APPLICATION PROCESS FOR TEMPORARY EX-
PANDED PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVE-
NESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, the Secretary of Education shall not require 
a borrower to apply for and be denied loan cancellation 
under section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) as a condition of eligibility 
for loan forgiveness under the programs specified in sub-
section (b). 
(b) PROGRAMS SPECIFIED.—The programs specified 
in this subsection are the programs of student loan for-
giveness commonly known as ‘‘Temporary Expanded Pub-
lic Service Loan Forgiveness’’ established under the fol-
lowing provisions of law: 
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(1) Section 313 of the Department of Defense 
and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Edu-
cation Appropriations Act, 2019 and Continuing Ap-
propriations Act, 2019 (Public Law 115–245). 
(2) Section 315 of the Consolidated Appropria-
tions Act, 2018 (Public Law 115–141). 
(c) ONLINE HELP TOOL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Education shall develop, and make available on a pub-
licly accessible website, an online tool designed to help bor-
rowers— 
(1) learn more about the Temporary Expanded 
Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program; 
(2) determine their eligibility for forgiveness 
under the program; and 
(3) identify any requirements for participation 
in the program, including any application require-
ments. 
Æ 
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