I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2829 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve the Public Service 
Loan Forgiveness program and reduce interest rates. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 10, 2025 
Mr. COURTNEY (for himself and Mr. DESAULNIER) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to improve 
the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and reduce 
interest rates. 
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 ‘‘Strengthening Efforts 
for Relief and Vital Incentives for Community Service and 
Engagement Act’’ or the ‘‘SERVICE Act’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:06 Apr 23, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2829.IH
H2829
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PUB-
LIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS. 
(a) NUMBER OF MONTHLY PAYMENTS.—Paragraph 
(1) of section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) is amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 
by striking ‘‘a borrower who’’ and inserting ‘‘a bor-
rower’’; 
(2) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(A) who— 
‘‘(i) has made 96 qualifying monthly 
payments on the eligible Federal Direct 
Loan after October 1, 2007; and 
‘‘(ii) has been employed in a public 
service job during the period in which the 
borrower makes each of the 96 qualifying 
monthly payments; and’’; and 
(3) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(B) without regard to the employment 
status of the borrower at the time of such can-
cellation.’’. 
(b) REDESIGNATIONS.—Section 455(m) of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) is further 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:06 Apr 23, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2829.IH
H2829
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
amended by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), 
as paragraphs (3), (6), and (7), respectively; 
(c) MONTHLY PAYMENTS.—Section 455(m) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)) is 
further amended— 
(1) by inserting after paragraph (1), as so 
amended, the following: 
‘‘(2) MONTHLY PAYMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) QUALIFYING MONTHLY PAYMENTS.— 
For the purpose of determining under para-
graph (1) the number of qualifying monthly 
payments made by a borrower on an eligible 
Federal Direct Loan, the Secretary shall con-
sider the borrower to have made a qualifying 
monthly payment for each month that— 
‘‘(i) the borrower pays (as a lump 
sum or in multiple installments) an 
amount that is not less than the monthly 
payment amount due on the eligible Fed-
eral Direct Loan pursuant to any one or a 
combination of the following— 
‘‘(I) payments under an income- 
based repayment plan under section 
493C; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:06 Apr 23, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2829.IH
H2829
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(II) payments under a standard 
repayment 
plan 
under 
subsection 
(d)(1)(A), based on a 10-year repay-
ment period; 
‘‘(III) monthly payments under a 
repayment 
plan 
under 
subsection 
(d)(1) or (g) of not less than the 
monthly amount calculated under sub-
section (d)(1)(A), based on a 10-year 
repayment period; or 
‘‘(IV) payments under an income 
contingent repayment plan under sub-
section (d)(1)(D); or 
‘‘(ii) in lieu of a payment described in 
clause (i), the borrower is in one of the fol-
lowing periods of deferment or forbear-
ance— 
‘‘(I) cancer treatment deferment 
under 
section 
427(a)(2)(C)(iv), 
428(b)(1)(M)(v), or 455(f)(3); 
‘‘(II) rehabilitation training pro-
gram 
deferment 
under 
section 
427(a)(2)(C)(i)(II), 
428(b)(1)(M)(i)(II), 
or 
455(f)(2)(A)(ii); 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:06 Apr 23, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2829.IH
H2829
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(III) military service deferment 
under section 428(b)(1)(M)(iii) or 
455(f)(2)(C); 
‘‘(IV) unemployment deferment 
under 
section 
427(a)(2)(C)(ii), 
428(b)(1)(M)(ii), 428B(d)(1)(A)(i), or 
455(f)(2)(B); 
‘‘(V) deferment due to an eco-
nomic hardship described in section 
427(a)(2)(C)(iii), 
section 
428(b)(1)(M)(iv), 
section 
428B(d)(1)(A)(i), section 435(o), or 
section 455(f)(2)(D); 
‘‘(VI) 
Peace 
Corps 
service 
deferment 
under 
section 
682.210(b)(2)(ii) or 682.210(k) of 
title 34, Code of Federal Regulations 
(or successor regulations), as made 
applicable to Direct Loan borrowers 
under section 685.204(j) of such title 
34; 
‘‘(VII) post-active-duty student 
deferment under section 493D; 
‘‘(VIII) AmeriCorps forbearance 
under section 428(c)(3)(A)(i)(III); 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:06 Apr 23, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2829.IH
H2829
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(IX) National Guard Duty for-
bearance 
under 
section 
682.211(h)(2)(iii) or 685.205(a)(7) of 
title 34, Code of Federal Regulations 
(or successor regulations); 
‘‘(X) Department of Defense stu-
dent loan repayment program forbear-
ance 
under 
section 
428(c)(3)(A)(i)(IV); 
‘‘(XI) administrative forbearance 
or mandatory administrative forbear-
ance under section 428(c)(3)(D) or 
428H(e)(7); or 
‘‘(XII) student loan debt burden 
forbearance 
under 
section 
428(c)(3)(A)(i)(II). 
‘‘(B) PREPAYMENTS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 
(ii), if, for any month, a borrower makes a 
qualifying monthly payment on an eligible 
Federal Direct Loan in an amount that ex-
ceeds the monthly payment amount due on 
such loan for such month, the Secretary 
shall— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:06 Apr 23, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2829.IH
H2829
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(I) if the excess amount is less 
than the monthly payment amount 
due for the subsequent month on such 
loan, apply the excess amount toward 
the monthly payment amount due for 
such subsequent month; 
‘‘(II) if the excess amount is 
equal to the monthly payment amount 
due for the subsequent month on such 
loan, treat the excess amount as the 
monthly payment for such subsequent 
month; 
‘‘(III) if the excess amount is 
greater than the monthly payment 
amount due for the subsequent month 
on such loan, but less than the total 
monthly payment amounts due for the 
2 subsequent months on such loan— 
‘‘(aa) treat the portion of 
the excess amount that covers 
the monthly payment amount due 
for the subsequent month as the 
monthly payment for such subse-
quent month; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:06 Apr 23, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2829.IH
H2829
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(C) QUALIFYING
REPAYMENT
PLAN.— 
The term ‘qualifying repayment plan’ means 
any of the repayment plans listed in clause (i) 
of paragraph (2)(A).’’. 
(d) LOAN CANCELLATION.—Paragraph (3) of section 
455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1087e(m)), as redesignated by subsection (b), is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(3) LOAN
CANCELLATION
AMOUNT.—Upon 
certification by a borrower of completion of 96 quali-
fying monthly payments by the borrower, the Sec-
retary shall determine whether the borrower meets 
each of the requirements of paragraph (1), and— 
‘‘(A) if the Secretary determines that the 
borrower does meet such requirements, cancel 
the obligation to repay the balance of principal 
and interest due as of the time of such cancella-
tion on the eligible Federal Direct Loans made 
to the borrower under this part, without further 
action by the borrower; or 
‘‘(B) if the Secretary determines that the 
borrower does not meet such requirements, no-
tify the borrower of such determination in ac-
cordance with paragraph (4).’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:06 Apr 23, 2025
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2829.IH
H2829
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB