Public Service Loan Forgiveness Protection Act

Bill: 116-s-3543
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]
Introduced: 2020-03-19
Policy area: Education
Subjects: Emergency medical services and trauma care

First responders and emergency personnel

Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management

Government lending and loan guarantees

Health personnel

Higher education

Infectious and parasitic diseases

Law enforcement officers

Lawyers and legal services

Military personnel and dependents

Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations

Student aid and college costs

Teaching, teachers, curricula
Latest action: action_date: 2020-03-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Summaries:
action_date: 2020-03-19
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Public Service Loan Forgiveness Protection Act</b></p> <p>This bill authorizes the Department of Education (ED) to waive monthly payments under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program during a qualifying emergency (e.g., a public health emergency).</p> <p>Specifically, ED may waive the requirement that a borrower make a monthly payment under the PSLF program during a month&nbsp;in which there is a qualifying emergency in the borrower's state of employment.</p> <p>The bill specifies that a borrower will not be disqualified from receiving loan cancellation under the PSLF program due to failure to make a payment during a qualifying emergency. </p>

tv_txt: II 116th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3543 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 19, 2020 Mr. Tester introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the public service loan forgiveness program under the Higher Education Act of 1965 to waive the requirement that a borrower make a monthly payment during a month for which there is a qualifying emergency in the State in which the borrower is employed.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Protection Act . 2. Waiver for public service loan forgiveness payments during qualifying emergency Section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1087e(m) ) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1), by striking The Secretary and inserting Except as provided under paragraph (5), the Secretary ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (5) Waiver for payments during qualifying emergency (A) Qualifying emergency The term qualifying emergency means— (i) a public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 247d ); (ii) an emergency for which a Governor of a State or territory has declared a state of emergency; (iii) an event for which the President declared a major disaster or an emergency under section 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 5170 and 5191); or (iv) a national emergency declared by the President under section 201 of the National Emergencies Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1621 ). (B) Waiver The Secretary may waive the requirement under paragraph (1) that a borrower make a monthly payment during a month for which there is a qualifying emergency in the State in which the borrower is employed. A failure to make a monthly payment pursuant to such waiver shall not disqualify such borrower from receiving loan cancellation pursuant to this subsection. .