Title: Recognizing Military Service in PSLF Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Recognizing Military Service in PSLF Act
This bill requires the Department of Education to count each month for which a borrower's federal student loan payment was in deferment or forbearance during a period of active duty, including certain National Guard duty, as a qualifying payment for the purpose of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
Under current law, a borrower who is a service member is eligible to receive student loan forgiveness under the PSLF program; however, if the borrower places their loan into deferment or forbearance while they are on active duty, that period of time does not count as a qualifying payment for the PSLF program.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1480 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1480

   To direct the Secretary of Education to deem each month for which 
   certain Federal student loans are in deferment during a period of 
   active duty service as months counted toward public service loan 
                              forgiveness.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 29, 2021

 Ms. Hassan (for herself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Reed, 
Ms. Murkowski, and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following bill; which 
  was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
                          Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Education to deem each month for which 
   certain Federal student loans are in deferment during a period of 
   active duty service as months counted toward public service loan 
                              forgiveness.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Recognizing Military Service in PSLF 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ACTIVE DUTY DEFERMENT PERIODS COUNTED TOWARD PUBLIC SERVICE 
              LOAN FORGIVENESS.

    Section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1087e(m)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (4) as 
        paragraphs (3) through (5), respectively;
            (2) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph 
        (A), by striking ``paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``paragraph 
        (3)''; and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2) Active duty deferment periods.--Notwithstanding any 
        other provision of this subsection, the Secretary shall deem 
        each month for which a loan payment was in deferment under 
        subsection (f)(2) of this section or for which a loan payment 
        was in forbearance under section 685.205(a)(7) of title 34, 
        Code of Federal Regulations, (or similar successor 
        regulations), for a borrower described in subsection (f)(2)(C) 
        as if the borrower of the loan had made a payment for the 
        purpose of public service loan forgiveness under this 
        subsection.''.
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