[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6230 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6230
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
March 12, 2020
Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania (for himself and Mr. Joyce of
Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
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 and ecf.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 18 months after
the date of enactment of the PSLF Administrative
Improvements Act, the Secretary shall--
``(i) establish and maintain 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) Employer defined.--For purposes of this
subsection, 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).
``(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; and
``(ii) encourage the employer to provide
such information to new employees.
``(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 section 315 of
title III of division H of the Consolidation
Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115-141;
132 Stat. 752 et seq.) and the availability of
appropriations for such section 315, determine
whether the borrower qualifies for the loan
cancellation program under such section 315,
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 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 how 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.
``(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;
``(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 category of public service
job listed in question 13 of the employment
certification form required under this subsection (as
in effect on the date of enactment of the PSLF
Administrative Improvements Act);
``(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 for the
loan cancellation program under section 315 of title
III of division H of the Consolidation Appropriations
Act, 2018 (Public Law 115-141; 132 Stat. 752 et seq.);
and
``(D) the reasons why a payment made on a loan did
not qualify as one of the 120 monthly payments under
paragraph (1)(A).''.
SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF TEPSLF.
A borrower may qualify for loan cancellation under section 315 of
title III of division H of the Consolidation Appropriations Act, 2018
(Public Law 115-141; 132 Stat. 752 et seq.), regardless of whether the
borrower has been rejected for loan cancellation under section 455(m)
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(m)).
<all>
PSLF Administrative Improvements Act
#6230 | HR Congress #116
Policy Area: Education
Subjects: Congressional oversightElementary and secondary educationFirst responders and emergency personnelForeign language and bilingual programsGovernment employee pay, benefits, personnel managementGovernment information and archivesGovernment lending and loan guaranteesHealth personnelHigher educationInternet and video servicesInternet, web applications, social mediaLaw enforcement officersLawyers and legal servicesLibraries and archivesLicensing and registrationsMilitary personnel and dependentsMinority educationPersonnel recordsPreschool education
Last Action: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor. (3/12/2020)
Bill Text Source: Congress.gov
Summary and Impacts
Original Text