Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images
Student-loan forgiveness for public servants is on the line.
President Donald Trump’s administration published its new rules to narrow eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program on Monday. The public comment period — during which anyone can submit comments on the new regulations to the administration — is officially open through September 17.
PSLF, which is intended to forgive student debt for government and nonprofit workers after 10 years of qualifying payments, has allowed for the discharge of over a billion dollars in student debt for public servants. Trump is seeking to alter the program — he signed an executive order in March asking the education secretary to redefine what “public service” means to remove PSLF eligibility for employers engaging in “anti-American” activities.
The proposed rule to limit PSLF, published in the Federal Register, said that “in cases where an employer is deemed to have engaged in activities that breach federal or state law or established public policy, affected borrowers would no longer receive credit toward loan forgiveness for months worked after the effective date of ineligibility.”
“While this may delay or prevent forgiveness for a subset of borrowers, the overall design of the regulations—including advance notice, transparency around determinations, and employer recertification pathways—helps mitigate unexpected harm,” the rule said.
Compromising behavior by an employer, according to the rule, could include violation of the federal disabilities act; violation of federal immigration law; what the department characterizes as “chemical castration or mutilation,” like the use of puberty blockers or hormones to help a transgender person transition; and acts of terrorism.
The Department of Education held negotiation sessions with stakeholders in early July, and some members of the committee expressed concerns with the department’s intent to limit the program.
“The intent of Congress was not to narrow the eligibility,” Betsy Mayotte, the president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors and a representative of student-loan borrowers, said during a session. “It was to make it as expansive as possible under the statute that they wrote.”
Representatives of the administration argued that the education secretary has the authority to interpret regulations and statutes and can legally refine PSLF.
Student-loan borrowers enrolled in PSLF previously told Business Insider that Trump’s plans to change a program they rely on for debt relief are a major concern.
“I’m so close to the finish line,” Jeff Hughes, a government employee with student debt, said. “I really hope that the program continues as is because we need some more good people out there doing good work.”
Undersecretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in a statement that “the federal government has a vital interest in deterring unlawful conduct, and we’re moving quickly to ensure employers don’t benefit while breaking the law.”
Are you enrolled in PSLF? Share your thoughts with this reporter at [email protected].
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