PSLF Technical Corrections Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-1175
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Whitehouse, Sheldon [D-RI]
Introduced: 2019-04-11
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Administrative remedies

Department of Education

Education of the disadvantaged

Elementary and secondary education

First responders and emergency personnel

Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management

Government lending and loan guarantees

Health personnel

Higher education

Indian social and development programs

Interest, dividends, interest rates

Law enforcement officers

Lawyers and legal services

Military personnel and dependents

Minority education

Preschool education

Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations

Student aid and college costs

Teaching, teachers, curricula
Latest action: action_date: 2019-04-11
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Summaries:
action_date: 2019-04-11
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>PSLF Technical Corrections Act</b> <b>of 2019</b></p> <p>This bill revises the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program under the Federal Direct Loan program. </p> <p>Under current law, the PSLF program forgives the balance of a borrower's student debt after the borrower makes 120 qualifying loan payments under specified repayment plans while employed in a public service job. The bill expands the program to include payments under graduated or extended plans as payments that qualify a borrower for loan forgiveness under the PSLF program.</p> <p>The bill requires the Department of Education (ED) to provide each borrower who has submitted a certification of employment under the PSLF program with a notification related to changes made to the program and a calculation of the borrower's monthly payments that count toward loan forgiveness.</p> <p>It also requires ED to establish a dispute resolution process.</p>

tv_txt: II 116th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1175 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 11, 2019 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 improve the public service loan forgiveness program.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the PSLF Technical Corrections Act of 2019 . 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) Payments in graduated or extended plans (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) has made 120 qualifying monthly payments, as defined in subparagraph (B), on the eligible Federal Direct Loan after October 1, 2007; (ii) is employed in a public service job at the time of such forgiveness; and (iii) has been employed in a public service job during the period in which the borrower makes each of the 120 payments described in clause (i). (B) Qualifying monthly payment In this paragraph, the term qualifying monthly payment means any payment made under any repayment plan that is not described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of paragraph (1)(A) that satisfied the monthly amount the borrower was required to pay at the time the monthly amount due was billed to the borrower. ; (4) in paragraph (3), as redesignated by paragraph (1), by inserting or paragraph (2), as the case may be after paragraph (1) ; and (5) by adding at the end the following: (6) Dispute resolution process Not later than July 1, 2019, the Secretary shall establish a process for borrowers to dispute the calculation of the number of monthly payments under paragraph (1) or (2) that count toward loan forgiveness under this subsection following the borrower's submission of a certification of employment or application for forgiveness (or any successor certification or application) under this subsection. (7) Recalculating the number of qualifying payment obligations for current public service loan forgiveness program participants Not later than July 1, 2019, the Secretary shall, for each borrower that has submitted a certification of employment under this subsection before July 1, 2019— (A) calculate the number of monthly payments under paragraph (1) or (2) that count toward loan forgiveness under this subsection, using the criteria under this subsection as in effect on July 1, 2019; and (B) inform the borrower of the changes to the public service loan forgiveness program under this subsection that take effect on or before July 1, 2019, and the number of monthly payments calculated for the borrower in accordance with subparagraph (A). .