‘‘(bb) apply the remainder of 
the excess amount toward the 
monthly payment amount due for 
the second subsequent month; 
‘‘(IV) if the excess amount is 
equal to or greater than the monthly 
payment amount due for the 2 subse-
quent months on such loan, but less 
than the total monthly payment 
amounts due for the 3 subsequent 
months on such loan— 
‘‘(aa) treat the portion of 
the excess amount that covers 
the monthly payment amounts 
due for the subsequent month 
and the second subsequent month 
as the monthly payments for 
such months; and 
‘‘(bb) apply any remainder 
of such excess amount toward the 
monthly payment amount due for 
the third subsequent month; 
‘‘(V) if the excess amount is 
equal 
to 
the 
monthly 
payment 
amounts due for the 3 subsequent 
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months on such loan, treat the excess 
amount as the monthly payments for 
such months; 
‘‘(VI) if the excess amount is 
greater than the monthly payment 
amounts due for the 3 subsequent 
months on such loan— 
‘‘(aa) treat the portion of 
the excess amount that covers 
the monthly payment amounts 
due for the 3 subsequent months 
as the monthly payments for 
such months; and 
‘‘(bb) apply any remainder 
of such excess amount to the 
principal balance of the eligible 
Federal Direct loan; and 
‘‘(VII) 
notwithstanding 
sub-
clauses (I) through (VI), if the bor-
rower has a monthly payment amount 
due on such loan for such month that 
is equal to $0, apply any excess 
amount for such month to the prin-
cipal balance of the eligible Federal 
Direct loan. 
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‘‘(ii) ALTERNATIVE
APPLICATION.— 
Prior to or at the time of making a pay-
ment that exceeds the monthly payment 
amount due on an eligible Federal Direct 
Loan for such month, a borrower may re-
quest that any excess amount for such 
month be applied to the principal balance 
of an eligible Federal Direct loan in lieu of 
such excess amount being applied in ac-
cordance with clause (i). 
‘‘(C) BUYBACK PAYMENT PROCESS.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary 
shall establish a buyback payment process 
under which a qualified borrower of an eli-
gible Federal Direct Loan may make a 
buyback payment in order to have eligible 
months of the borrower’s public service 
employment period during which the bor-
rower did not make a qualifying monthly 
payment on such loan be treated as if the 
borrower had made a qualifying monthly 
payment on such loan. 
‘‘(ii) QUALIFIED BORROWER.—A bor-
rower is a qualified borrower for the pur-
poses of making a buyback payment in ac-
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cordance with this subparagraph if the 
borrower— 
‘‘(I) has an eligible Federal Di-
rect Loan that is not in default; 
‘‘(II) has been employed in a 
public service job for not less than a 
96 month employment period, but 
during such employment period has 
made fewer than 96 qualifying month-
ly payments on an eligible Federal Di-
rect Loan; and 
‘‘(III) 
requests 
to 
make 
a 
buyback payment in accordance with 
this subparagraph. 
‘‘(iii) ELIGIBLE
MONTH.—For the 
purposes of this subparagraph, an eligible 
month means a month during which a 
qualified borrower was employed in a pub-
lic service job, was not in an in-school 
deferment or grace period, and did not 
make a qualifying monthly payment on an 
eligible Federal Direct Loan for such 
month— 
‘‘(I) because the borrower made a 
monthly payment on such eligible 
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Federal Direct Loan pursuant to a re-
payment plan that is not a qualifying 
repayment plan; 
‘‘(II) because the borrower was 
in a period of deferment or forbear-
ance other than a period described in 
clause (ii) of subparagraph (A); or 
‘‘(III) for another reason deter-
mined appropriate by the Secretary. 
‘‘(iv) BUYBACK
PAYMENT
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—A buyback payment made in ac-
cordance with this subparagraph— 
‘‘(I) shall be made by a qualified 
borrower as a lump sum payment 
amount, and in an amount that equals 
the total amount the borrower would 
have paid in qualifying monthly pay-
ments on the eligible Federal Direct 
Loan for all eligible months the bor-
rower is requesting to buyback, pursu-
ant to a qualifying repayment plan 
applicable to the borrower, in accord-
ance with section 685.219(g)(6) of 
title 34, Code of Federal Regulations 
(as such section is in effect on the 
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date of enactment of this paragraph) 
or any other relevant regulations in 
effect on such date; 
‘‘(II) may not be made with re-
spect to an eligible Federal Direct 
Loan that has been paid off, dis-
charged, or cancelled; and 
‘‘(III) with respect to an eligible 
Federal Direct Loan that is a consoli-
dation loan, may not be used to 
buyback eligible months that occurred 
before the date of the consolidation of 
such loan. 
‘‘(D) HOLD
HARMLESS
AGAINST
RETRO-
ACTIVE
DETERMINATIONS.—For purposes of 
determining under paragraph (1) the number of 
qualifying monthly payments made by a bor-
rower, any payment or period of deferment or 
forbearance that is determined to be a quali-
fying monthly payment may not, at a later 
time, be determined not to be a qualifying 
monthly payment.’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (6), as redesignated by section 
2(b), by adding at the end the following: 
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(e) RECONSIDERATION PROCESS.—Section 455(m) of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)), 
as redesignated by subsection (b), is further amended by 
inserting after paragraph (3), as so amended, the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(4) INITIAL
DETERMINATION
OF
INELIGI-
BILITY
FOR
LOAN
CANCELLATION.—In a case in 
which the Secretary determines that a borrower has 
not met the requirements of paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary shall— 
‘‘(A) notify the borrower that— 
‘‘(i) the borrower’s application has 
been denied, including the basis for such 
denial; 
‘‘(ii) the borrower is in a 90-day for-
bearance period described in subparagraph 
(B); and 
‘‘(iii) the Secretary will resume collec-
tion of the eligible Federal Direct Loans 
for which the borrower was seeking loan 
cancellation under this subsection after 
such 90-day forbearance period, unless the 
borrower opts to extend such forbearance 
period under paragraph (5)(A)(ii); and 
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‘‘(B) grant the borrower a 90-day forbear-
ance period, beginning on the date of the notice 
described in subparagraph (A) provided to the 
borrower, and during which— 
‘‘(i) payments of principal and inter-
est need not be made on the eligible Fed-
eral Direct Loans for which the borrower 
was seeking loan cancellation under this 
subsection; and 
‘‘(ii) any interest accrued and not 
paid may not be capitalized. 
‘‘(5) RECONSIDERATION PROCESS.— 
‘‘(A) REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION.— 
Not later than 90 days after the date of the no-
tice described in paragraph (4)(A) provided to 
the borrower— 
‘‘(i) the borrower may request, on a 
form approved by the Secretary, that the 
Secretary reconsider the basis for the Sec-
retary’s denial under paragraph (4)(A)(i); 
and 
‘‘(ii) if the Secretary grants the bor-
rower’s reconsideration request, offer the 
borrower an extension of the 90-day for-
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bearance period described in paragraph 
(4)(B), which shall— 
‘‘(I) begin on the date of the bor-
rower’s reconsideration request under 
this subparagraph; and 
‘‘(II) end on the date of the no-
tice provided to the borrower under 
subparagraph (C)(i)(I) of the Sec-
retary’s reconsideration decision. 
‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION
OF
RECONSIDER-
ATION REQUEST.—In evaluating a reconsider-
ation request from a borrower, the Secretary 
shall consider any relevant evidence or sup-
porting documentation that may assist the Sec-
retary in determining whether the borrower 
meets each of the requirements of paragraph 
(1) to qualify for loan cancellation under this 
subsection. 
‘‘(C) DECISION BY THE SECRETARY.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 
months after receipt of a borrower’s recon-
sideration request, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(I) notify the borrower of the 
reconsideration decision and the rea-
son for the Secretary’s determination; 
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‘‘(II) in a case in which the re-
consideration request is granted, ad-
just the borrower’s number of quali-
fying monthly payments under para-
graph (1) or cancel the loan under 
paragraph (3); and 
‘‘(III) in a case in which the Sec-
retary denies the reconsideration re-
quest, with respect to a borrower who 
agrees to the forbearance extension 
described in subparagraph (A)(ii), in-
clude in the notice provided to the 
borrower under subclause (I), a re-
minder that the Secretary will resume 
collection of the eligible Federal Di-
rect Loans for which the borrower 
was seeking loan cancellation under 
this subsection as of the date of such 
notice. 
‘‘(ii) FINAL
DECISION.—After the 
Secretary makes a decision on the bor-
rower’s reconsideration request, the Sec-
retary’s decision is final, and the borrower 
will not receive additional reconsider-
ation.’’. 
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SEC. 3. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT. 
(a) INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS.—Section 455(m) 
is further amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) TREATMENT OF INDEPENDENT CONTRAC-
TORS.—For purposes of this subsection, each ref-
erence to ‘employment’ and ‘employed’ shall be 
treated as including work as an independent con-
tractor.’’. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—Paragraph (6) of section 455(m) 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1087e(m)), as redesignated by section 2(b), is further 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) FULL-TIME.—The term ‘full-time’ 
means, with respect to a public service job, 
working 1 or more such jobs— 
‘‘(i) a minimum average of 30 hours 
per week during the period being certified; 
‘‘(ii) a minimum of 30 hours per week 
throughout a contractual or employment 
period of at least 8 months in a 12-month 
period; and 
‘‘(iii) with respect to an individual 
who is in nontenure track employment at 
an institution of higher education, the 
equivalent of 30 hours per week as deter-
mined by multiplying each credit or con-
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tact hour taught by such individual per 
week by a number to be determined by the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(E) INDEPENDENT
CONTRACTOR.—The 
term ‘independent contractor’ means an indi-
vidual who is not an employee and who is work-
ing in a public service job in a position or pro-
viding services which, under applicable State 
law, cannot be filled or provided by an employee 
of the public service job.’’. 
SEC. 4. ONLINE PORTAL AND DATABASE OF PUBLIC SERV-
ICE JOBS. 
Section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
is further amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(9) ONLINE PORTAL AND DATABASE OF PUB-
LIC SERVICE JOBS.— 
‘‘(A) ONLINE PORTAL.— 
‘‘(i) 
BORROWERS.—The 
Secretary 
shall establish an online portal that pro-
vides to borrowers of eligible Federal Di-
rect Loans the following information: 
‘‘(I) Instructions on how to ac-
cess the database established under 
subparagraph (B) so that the bor-
rower can determine whether the bor-
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rower is employed in a public service 
job. 
‘‘(II) An identification of the 
loans of the borrower that are eligible 
Federal Direct Loans, and an identi-
fication of the qualifying repayment 
plans for which such eligible Federal 
Direct Loans qualify. 
‘‘(III) With respect to each such 
eligible Federal Direct Loan— 
‘‘(aa) the number of quali-
fying monthly payments the bor-
rower has made in accordance 
with paragraph (1); and 
‘‘(bb) the estimated number 
of qualifying monthly payments 
under such paragraph remaining 
on such loan before the borrower 
may be eligible for loan cancella-
tion under this subsection. 
‘‘(IV) With respect to each loan 
of the borrower that is not eligible for 
loan cancellation under paragraph (3) 
of this subsection, an explanation of 
why the loan is not so eligible and in-
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structions on how what, if anything, 
the borrower may do to make the loan 
so eligible. 
‘‘(V) Instructions for the submis-
sion of any forms associated with such 
loan cancellation, and an ability for 
the borrower to use the portal to elec-
tronically sign and submit such forms. 
‘‘(VI) In a case in which a bor-
rower submits to the Secretary an ap-
plication for loan cancellation under 
this subsection that is denied by the 
Secretary— 
‘‘(aa) a notice of such denial 
that meets each of the require-
ments of paragraph (4)(A), in-
cluding an explanation of the 90- 
day forbearance period; 
‘‘(bb) a form that meets 
each of the requirements of para-
graph (5)(A), which the borrower 
may use to request reconsider-
ation of such denial, including 
accepting an extension of the 90- 
day forbearance period; and 
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‘‘(cc) a notice of the Sec-
retary’s reconsideration decision, 
which meets each of the require-
ments of paragraph (5)(C). 
‘‘(VII) An explanation of the 
buyback payment process described in 
paragraph (2)(C), and a form to re-
quest such a buyback, including the 
eligible months for which the borrower 
may request a buyback, and the 
amount that the borrower would be 
required to pay for such buyback. 
‘‘(VIII) An explanation of how 
consolidating one or more Direct 
Loans into a Direct Consolidation 
Loan, including a Direct PLUS Loan 
made to a parent borrower, will affect 
the number of qualifying monthly pay-
ments attributed to the borrower. 
‘‘(ii) APPROPRIATE
CONTACTS.—The 
Secretary shall ensure that an appropriate 
contact for a public service job of a bor-
rower has the option to electronically sign 
and submit any forms associated with loan 
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cancellation under paragraph (3) of this 
subsection. 
‘‘(iii) INFORMATION.—The Secretary 
shall ensure that any information provided 
through the online portal described in this 
subparagraph contains up-to-date informa-
tion. 
‘‘(B) DATABASE
OF
PUBLIC
SERVICE 
JOBS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Labor, 
shall establish and regularly update a data-
base that lists public service jobs. 
‘‘(ii) 
PUBLIC
AVAILABILITY.—The 
database established under clause (i) shall 
be made available on a publicly accessible 
website of the Department of Education in 
an easily searchable format.’’. 
SEC. 5. TREATMENT OF PERIODS OF DEFERMENT AND FOR-
BEARANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 455(f) of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(f)) is amended— 
(1) in the subsection heading, by inserting 
‘‘AND FORBEARANCE’’ at the end; 
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(2) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘capital-
ized or’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) FORBEARANCE.—With respect to a loan 
that is in a period of forbearance, interest on such 
loan may not be capitalized after the conclusion of 
such period.’’. 
(b) APPLICATION
OF AMENDMENT.—The amend-
ments made by subsection (a) shall apply to any period 
of deferment or forbearance in effect as of the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and any period of deferment or for-
bearance beginning on or after such date of enactment. 
SEC. 6. TREATMENT OF CONSOLIDATED AND REFINANCED 
LOANS. 
Section 455(m)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)(2), as amended by the pre-
ceding provisions of this Act, is further amended by insert-
ing after subparagraph (D) the following: 
‘‘(E) DETERMINATION
OF
NUMBER
OF 
QUALIFYING
MONTHLY
PAYMENTS
FOR
CON-
SOLIDATION
LOANS.—With respect to deter-
mining the number of qualifying monthly pay-
ments for a borrower seeking loan forgiveness 
under this subsection who consolidates one or 
more Direct Loans into a Direct Consolidation 
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Loan, including a Direct PLUS Loan made to 
a parent borrower, the Secretary shall use the 
weighted average of the payments the borrower 
made on the Direct Loans prior to consoli-
dating that met the criteria under this sub-
section.’’. 
SEC. 7. LOAN FORGIVENESS FOR TEACHERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is further amended— 
(1) in section 428J(g)(2) (20 U.S.C. 1078– 
10(g)(2))— 
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or’’ 
after the semicolon at the end; 
(B) by striking subparagraph (B); and 
(C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 
subparagraph (B); and 
(2) 
in 
section 
460(g)(2) 
(20 
U.S.C. 
1087j(g)(2))— 
(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or’’ 
after the semicolon at the end; 
(B) by striking subparagraph (B); and 
(C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 
subparagraph (B). 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 455(m)(7) 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as redesignated by 
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section 2(b) of this Act, is amended by striking ‘‘section 
428J, 428K, 428L, or 460’’ and inserting ‘‘section 428K 
or 428L’’. 
SEC. 8. GAO STUDY ON DATA MATCHING AGREEMENTS FOR 
PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall conduct a study on the feasibility of 
establishing data matching agreements for public service 
loan forgiveness under section 455(m) of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) that would allow 
a borrower to forego requesting certification of employ-
ment from the appropriate contact for the public service 
job of the borrower. The study shall include an examina-
tion of the Department of Education and the Department 
of Defense’s progress towards automatic data matching 
for military and veteran borrowers. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 
submit a report to the Committee on Education and 
Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
Senate containing the findings and recommendations re-
sulting from the study required under subsection (a). 
(c) COOPERATION.—The head of each relevant Fed-
eral agency, including the Secretary of Education, Sec-
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retary of Defense, and Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 
shall cooperate with the Comptroller General to facilitate 
the completion of the study required under subsection (a). 
Æ 
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