Senate Democrats Offer Neg Reg Comments Urging ED to Continue Implementing Borrower Relief
By Hugh T. Ferguson, NASFAA Staff Reporter
As the Department of Education (ED) continues with its negotiated rulemaking process, several Senate Democrats are sharing their thoughts on how the agency should use the regulatory framework to deliver additional student debt relief and protections for borrowers.
The letter, signed by seven Democrats, including Sen. Patty Murray, (D-Wash.) chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee, outlines four key programs that the signatories would like to see ED address in the development of any finalized language.
Specifically, the senators are calling on ED to streamline income-driven repayment (IDR) into a single plan that expands relief for borrowers, speed the processing of borrower defense claims and expand protections for students, eliminate any restriction on closed school discharge related to whether a student transferred to another institution, and make recent improvements to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program permanent.
“Our requests for student loan discharge programs and repayment plans will help protect students and support struggling student loan borrowers,” the letter reads. “For all applicable programs where additional relief is proposed for students and borrowers relative to current regulations, we strongly encourage the Department to pursue early implementation as provided by the HEA.”
Stay tuned to Today’s News for coverage of negotiated rulemaking and be sure to follow along with resources provided by ED throughout the process.
Publication Date: 11/4/2021
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