The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, proposed and passed in 2007 via the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (P. L. 110 – 84), was created to incentivize public service work by allowing borrowers who spend at least ten years in public service professions—and make 120 qualifying direct student loan repayments—to have their remaining federal student loan balances forgiven.
During a congressional hearing held by the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Policy, Ms. Randi Weingarten—the President of the American Federation of Teachers—stated that less than two percent of public service loan forgiveness applications were approved during the Trump-Pence administration. Furthermore, she emphasized that “public service should not lead to a lifetime of [federal student loan debt]” and added that lawmakers should cancel all past debt for qualifying public servants.
The temporary changes—which are set to expire on Monday, October 31, 2022—include but are not limited to:
- Offering a time-limited waiver so that federal student loan borrowers are able to count payments from all federal student loan programs or repayment plans—including those not previously eligible under the program—towards forgiveness.
- Allowing military service members to count months spent on active duty to be applied towards loan forgiveness, even if the service member’s loans were on a deferment or forbearance rather than in active repayment.
- Providing credit towards loan forgiveness for military service members and federal government employees using federal data matches.
- Reviewing denied Public Service Loan Forgiveness applications for errors and permitting denied federal student loan borrowers to have their applications reconsider.
Please see a comprehensive fact sheet published by the Department of Education for more details on the policy change.
