[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6792 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6792
To amend the public service loan forgiveness program under the Higher
Education Act of 1965 to require an on-line portal, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 14, 2023
Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. Joyce of Ohio)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the public service loan forgiveness program under the Higher
Education Act of 1965 to require an on-line portal, and for other
purposes.
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 ``PSLF Administrative Improvements
Act''.
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION.
Section 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
1087e(m)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Database of public service jobs.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 18 months after
the date of enactment of the PSLF Administrative
Improvements Act, the Secretary of Education, in
conjunction with the Secretary of Labor, shall--
``(i) establish and regularly update a
publicly accessible database of public service
employers, which shall include information
required for the process for completion of the
employment certifications forms required under
this subsection; and
``(ii) ensure that such employment
certification forms are available in languages
other than English.
``(B) Definitions.--For purposes of this
subsection:
``(i) Public service employer.--The term
`public service employer' has the meaning given
the term `public service organization' in
section 685.219(b) of title 34, Code of Federal
Regulations (or successor regulations).
``(ii) TEPSLF program.--The term `TEPSLF
program' means the Temporary Expanded Public
Service Loan Forgiveness program carried out by
the Department of Education, including the
program carried out under section 311 of
division H of the Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2022 (Public Law 117-103).
``(6) Notice of pslf requirements.--
``(A) Employers.--With respect to each employer
whose contact information is maintained in the database
described in paragraph (5), the Secretary shall, on an
annual basis and in a manner that is consistent with
Federal laws on data privacy--
``(i) provide each such employer with
standardized information on the program under
this subsection, including eligibility
requirements;
``(ii) encourage the employer to provide
such information to new employees; and
``(iii) in the case of an employer that is
likely to be subject to a determination by the
Secretary that the employer is failing to meet
the definition of public service employer--
``(I) notify such employer that
such a determination is likely, prior
to such determination; and
``(II) provide the employer an
opportunity to make changes in order to
avoid such determination, and if
applicable, an opportunity to appeal
such determination.
``(B) Institutions of higher education.--With
respect to each institution of higher education
participating in any program under this title, the
Secretary shall, on an annual basis, provide each such
institution with standardized information on the
program under this subsection, including eligibility
requirements.
``(C) Borrowers.--With respect to each borrower who
was denied loan cancellation under this subsection, the
Secretary shall--
``(i) without any further action by the
borrower and subject to the limitation on total
loan volume specified under the TEPSLF program
and the availability of appropriations for such
section 315, determine whether the borrower
qualifies for the loan cancellation program
under the TEPSLF, and if so, cancel the
borrower's loans in accordance with such
program; and
``(ii) in a case in which a borrower's
loans were not cancelled under clause (i),
notify the borrower of other options (such as
loan consolidation) to qualify for loan
cancellation under this subsection, and how to
successfully pursue such options.
``(7) Data matching agreements.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall enter into
data matching agreements with relevant Federal agencies
who possess records about the status of borrowers of
loans made under this part as employees of public
service employers for the purpose of eliminating, to
the extent practicable, the need for a borrower or an
employer to submit a certification of employment to the
Secretary.
``(B) Specific federal agencies.--Notwithstanding
any Federal law, the Secretary of Labor, the
Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and the Commissioner
of Social Security shall disclose any relevant records
to the Secretary for the purposes of meeting the
Secretary's obligations to reduce barriers to
certification of employment as described in
subparagraph (A).
``(C) Notice to borrowers.--If the Secretary
receives employer or employment information regarding a
borrower from a Federal agency pursuant to this
paragraph, the Secretary shall timely notify the
borrower that--
``(i) the Secretary received the
information; and
``(ii) the borrower, for the duration of
the borrower's employment by the employer--
``(I) is not required to submit a
certification of employment for the
employer under paragraph (8); or
``(II) if the information is not
complete, only needs to submit a
reduced set of information to the
Secretary for the certification of
employment.
``(8) On-line portal.--
``(A) Borrowers.--Not later than 18 months after
the date of enactment of the PSLF Administrative
Improvements Act, the Secretary shall ensure that
borrowers have access to an on-line portal, integrated
with the Federal Student Aid dashboard (or any
successor dashboard or similar website) that provides
each borrower who signs on to such portal with the
following:
``(i) Instructions on how to access the
database under paragraph (5) so that the
borrower can determine whether the borrower is
employed in a public service job.
``(ii) An identification of the loans of
the borrower that are eligible Federal Direct
Loans.
``(iii) With respect to each such eligible
Federal Direct Loan, the number of monthly
payments on such loan that qualify as a monthly
payment under paragraph (1)(A), and the
estimated number of monthly payments under
paragraph (1)(A) remaining on such loan before
the borrower may be eligible for loan
cancellation under this subsection.
``(iv) With respect to each loan of the
borrower that is not eligible for loan
cancellation under this subsection, an
explanation of why the loan is not so eligible
and instructions on what, if anything, the
borrower may do to make the loan so eligible.
``(v) Instructions for the submission of
any forms associated with such loan
cancellation, and an ability for the borrower
to use the portal to electronically sign and
submit such forms.
``(vi) In the case of a borrower who
disputes a determination of the Secretary
relating to the entitlement of the borrower to
loan cancellation under paragraph (2) or with
respect to a determination that a loan is not
eligible pursuant to clause (iv)--
``(I) an ability for the borrower
to file a claim with the Secretary to
dispute such determination through the
portal; and
``(II) in the case of such a claim
that has been filed the status of such
claim, for which updates shall be
provided not fewer than once every 90
days.
``(B) Employers.--The Secretary shall ensure that
an employer of a borrower has the ability to
electronically sign and submit any forms associated
with loan cancellation under this subsection.
``(C) Information.--The Secretary shall ensure that
any information provided through the on-line portal
described in this paragraph--
``(i) is up-to-date information; and
``(ii) that such information is also
provided in a written-format through email or
regular mail, if so requested by the borrower
or employer.
``(9) Standard procedures.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of the PSLF Administrative Improvements
Act, the Secretary shall develop and make publicly available
the procedures the Secretary (including the contractors and
servicers involved) uses to determine whether a borrower meets
the requirements for loan cancellation under this subsection.
``(10) Annual report.--The Secretary shall submit to the
authorizing committees, an annual report with respect to the
preceding fiscal year, on--
``(A) the number of borrowers who received loan
cancellation under this subsection, and the number of
such borrowers whose application for such loan
cancellation had been previously rejected,
disaggregated by each category of public service job
listed in the employment certification form required
under this subsection;
``(B) the number of borrowers whose application for
loan cancellation under this subsection was rejected,
and a description of why each such application was so
rejected, disaggregated by each category of public
service job described in subparagraph (A);
``(C) the number of borrowers whose application for
loan cancellation under this subsection had been
rejected and who contacted the Secretary to determine
how to qualify for such loan cancellation or loan
cancellation under the TEPSLF program;
``(D) each reason why a payment made on an eligible
Federal Direct Loan did not qualify as one of the 120
monthly payments under paragraph (1)(A);
``(E) the number of borrowers employed by an
employer that--
``(i) is not an organization described in
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section
501(a) of such Code; and
``(ii) was determined to meet the
definition of public service employer; and
``(F) the number of borrowers employed by an
employer described in subparagraph (E)(i) that was
determined to not meet the definition of public service
employer.''.
SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF TEPSLF.
A borrower may qualify for loan forgiveness under the Temporary
Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness program carried out by the
Department of Education, including the program carried out under
section 311 of division H of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022
(Public Law 117-103), without regard to whether the borrower's
application for loan cancellation under section 455(m) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)), as amended by this Act, is
rejected.
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