PSLF Technical Corrections Act

Bill: 115-s-2136
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]
Introduced: 2017-11-16
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Child care and development

First responders and emergency personnel

Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management

Government lending and loan guarantees

Health personnel

Higher education

Interest, dividends, interest rates

Law enforcement officers

Lawyers and legal services

Libraries and archives

Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations

Student aid and college costs

Teaching, teachers, curricula
Latest action: action_date: 2017-11-16
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Summaries:
action_date: 2017-11-16
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>PSLF Technical Corrections Act</b></p> <p>This bill amends the the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. Under current law, the PSLF program forgives the the balance of a borrower's student debt after the borrower makes 120 qualifying loan payments under specified repayment plans while while employed in a public service job. This bill expands the program to include comparable payments under additional repayment plans as payments that qualify borrowers for loan forgiveness under PSLF.</p>

tv_txt: II 115th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2136 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 16, 2017 Mr. Whitehouse (for himself and Mr. Kaine ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To expand the monthly payments that may be eligible for public service loan forgiveness.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the PSLF Technical Corrections Act . 2. Amendment to the Higher Education Act of 1965 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)— (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking paragraph (2) and inserting paragraph (3) ; and (B) in subparagraph (A)— (i) in clause (ii), by inserting or after the semicolon; (ii) by striking clause (iii); and (iii) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause (iii); (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following: (2) Comparable payments (A) In General In addition to canceling the balance of interest and principal due for a borrower described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall also cancel the balance of interest and principal due, in accordance with paragraph (3), on any eligible Federal Direct Loan not in default for a borrower who— (i) is in a repayment plan based on income under subsection (e) or section 493C at the time that borrower applies for loan forgiveness under this subsection; (ii) has made 120— (I) qualifying monthly payments, as defined in subparagraph (B)(i), on the eligible Federal Direct Loan after October 1, 2007; (II) qualifying monthly payments, as defined in subparagraph (B)(ii), on the eligible Federal Direct Loan after October 1, 2007; or (III) total monthly payments that qualify for loan forgiveness under this subsection, which may include any combination of payments that otherwise qualify under paragraph (1), qualifying monthly payments described in subclause (I), or qualifying monthly payments described in subclause (II); (iii) is employed in a public service job at the time of such forgiveness; and (iv) has been employed in a public service job during the period in which the borrower makes each of the 120 payments described in clause (ii). (B) Qualifying monthly payment In this paragraph, the term qualifying monthly payment means— (i) (I) an initial monthly payment that was— (aa) made under any repayment plan that is not described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of paragraph (1)(A); and (bb) of an amount that is not less than— (AA) the monthly amount that the borrower is required to pay in the repayment plan based on income described in subparagraph (A)(i); or (BB) the monthly amount that the borrower would have been required to pay if the borrower had entered a repayment plan based on income under subsection (e) or section 493C at the time the borrower entered the repayment plan described in item (aa); and (II) every subsequent monthly payment that the borrower made after the initial payment described in subclause (I) and before the borrower entered the repayment plan based on income described in subparagraph (A)(i); or (ii) a monthly payment certified through the extended review process described in subparagraph (C). (C) Qualifying monthly payment through extended review (i) In General A borrower who has not made 120 qualifying monthly payments, as defined in subparagraph (B)(i), may request that the Secretary complete an extended review of the borrower's repayment history. (ii) Extended review If the Secretary receives a request for an extended review described in clause (i), the Secretary shall— (I) for each month of past payments made under a plan that is not described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of paragraph (1)(A) after October 1, 2007, determine the amount that the borrower would have been required to pay in that month (based on the borrower's income in that year or month) if the borrower had been on the repayment plan based on income described in subparagraph (A)(i) in that month; and (II) certify as a qualifying monthly payment, any month for which the payment the borrower actually made in that month was not less than the amount of the payment calculated under subclause (I) for that month. ; and (4) in paragraph (3), as redesignated by paragraph (1), by inserting or paragraph (2), as the case may be after paragraph (1) .