A measure to help public servant pay off their federal loans through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was signed into law as part of the Omnibus bill Friday.
The PSLF Technical Corrections Act (H.R. 4399), authored by Reps. Ryan Costello (R-PA) and Brendan Boyle (D-PA), will help those who thought they were enrolled in the PSLF program to reduce the burden of their student loan debt. Through a glitch, some borrowers were not when they should have been. This bill will fix that ensuring that they receive the benefits they deserved.
Through the PLSF program, the balance of federal student loans for public servants like teachers, social workers, and law enforcement are forgiven after years of service and timely repayment. Borrowers can erase the balance of their student debt after working as a public servant for 10 years and 120 qualifying loan payments. Due to the glitch, some borrowers thought they were making qualifying payments only to find out that they actually were not.
“Many teachers, first responders, and law enforcement officers are working hard to make a difference in their communities and also working towards student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program,” Costello said. “In some instances, borrowers are making good-faith payments toward PSLF while unknowingly enrolled in a plan that does not qualify. Our public servants should not be penalized for administrative glitches that were no fault of their own, and I am glad to see provisions from our legislation enacted so that loan forgiveness these borrowers have been working toward will be honored.”
Boyle said it was wrong to disqualify individuals who did everything right except paying the federal government more than they had to.
“I am proud to have led the fight for this correction as a matter of fundamental fairness and will continue to combat efforts to limit or end PSLF,” Boyle said. “We should be providing every lifeline we can to hardworking individuals faithfully repaying their loans – especially those dutifully serving their communities in public service careers – not imposing bureaucratic barriers.”