Proposed Rule2024-30606
Student Debt Relief for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (Direct Loans), the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, the Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins) Program, and the Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program; Withdrawal
Primary source
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Published
December 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Education Department
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) is withdrawing a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that, under the Secretary's authority to waive repayment of a loan provided by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), proposed to do the following: amend regulations regarding waiver of certain student loan debts; provide targeted debt relief as part of efforts to address the burden of student loan debt; and modify the Department's existing debt collection regulations to provide greater specificity regarding certain non- exhaustive situations in which the Secretary may exercise discretion to waive all or part of any debts owed to the Department.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 247 (Thursday, December 26, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 247 (Thursday, December 26, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 104939-104940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30606]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Parts 30 and 682
[Docket ID ED-2023-OPE-0123]
RIN 1840-AD93
Student Debt Relief for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan
Program (Direct Loans), the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL)
Program, the Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins) Program, and the Health
Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) Program; Withdrawal
AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.
ACTION: Withdrawal of notice of proposed rulemaking and termination of
rulemaking proceeding.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Education (Department) is withdrawing a
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that, under the Secretary's
authority to waive repayment of a loan provided by the Higher Education
Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), proposed to do the following: amend
regulations regarding waiver of certain student loan debts; provide
targeted debt relief as part of efforts to address the burden of
student loan debt; and modify the Department's existing debt collection
regulations to provide greater specificity regarding certain non-
exhaustive situations in which the Secretary may exercise discretion to
waive all or part of any debts owed to the Department.
DATES: The notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal
Register at 89 FR 27564 on April 17, 2024, is withdrawn as of December
20, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tamy Abernathy, U.S. Department of
[[Page 104940]]
Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW,
5th Floor, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 245-4595. Email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#662803013403012836342b2e030a1626030248010910"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="145a71734671735a4446595c7178645471703a737b62">[email protected]</span></a>.
If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On April 17, 2024, the Department published an NPRM in the Federal
Register that, in accordance with the Secretary's authority to waive
repayment of a loan provided by section 432(a) of the HEA, would
specify the Secretary's discretion to provide debt relief targeted to
specific circumstances. See 89 FR 27564. The proposed regulations would
modify the Department's existing debt collection regulations to provide
greater specificity regarding the Secretary's discretion to waive
Federal student loan debt. It would also specify the Secretary's
authority to waive all or part of any debts owed to the Department
based on a number of different circumstances, such as the following:
growth in a borrower's loan balance beyond what was owed upon entering
repayment; the amount of time since a loan first entered repayment;
whether the borrower is otherwise eligible for loan forgiveness or
discharge under existing authority but has not successfully applied;
and whether a borrower obtained a loan to attend an institution or
program that was subject to secretarial actions to end its title IV
eligibility, that closed prior to such secretarial actions, or was
associated with closed Gainful Employment programs with high debt-to-
earnings rates or low median earnings.
The Department accepted public comments on the NPRM from April 17,
2024 through May 17, 2024. In response to the NPRM, the Department
received 148,567 written comments, and the Department has reviewed such
comments.
Withdrawal of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Termination of
the Rulemaking Proceeding
In accordance with the Secretary's authority under section 432(a)
of the HEA to waive repayment of a loan, the Department issued the NPRM
to specify the Secretary's discretion to provide targeted debt relief
to borrowers facing specific challenges repaying their student loans.
The NPRM also proposed revisions to update and clarify various
references and provisions in subparts A, C, E, and F of 34 CFR part 30
and proposed to amend part 682 by adding a new Sec. 682.403.
The Department believed clarifying the circumstances in which the
Secretary may use the existing and longstanding waiver authority under
section 432(a) of the HEA would better inform the public about how the
Secretary may exercise this waiver authority in a consistent and
equitable manner. Current regulations do not describe how the Secretary
uses this waiver authority. We also believed that providing such
specificity would allow the Department to highlight circumstances where
we are particularly concerned about borrowers' inability to
successfully repay their debt in full in a reasonable period, where the
Department anticipated that the costs of collection would exceed the
amount recoverable, and in circumstances that would implicate equity
and fairness.
However, upon further consideration of the operational challenges
in implementing the proposals in the NPRM, the Secretary withdraws the
NPRM and terminates the rulemaking proceeding.
In making this decision, we considered the Department's ability to
implement the proposed rules if they were finalized in a form identical
or largely similar to what was included in the NPRM. With the time
remaining in this administration, the Department is focused on several
priorities including court-ordered settlements and helping borrowers
manage the final elements of the return to repayment following the Fall
2024 end of the 12-month on-ramp period designed to assist borrowers
who were unable to make their payments or who needed more time to
access information to determine the right repayment plan for their
circumstances. With the end of the on-ramp period, some borrowers may
start becoming delinquent and start down the path to default. Given
that many newer borrowers are at risk of default, and many of these
borrowers would not have been otherwise affected by the proposed rules
in the NPRM, along with the uncertainty around the implementation of
the NPRM proposals, at this time the Department intends to commit its
limited operational resources to helping at-risk borrowers return to
repayment successfully. The Department has also concluded that
withdrawing the NPRM will assure agency flexibility in re-examining the
issues and exploring options and alternatives with stakeholders in the
future. For all of these independently sufficient reasons, the
Department is withdrawing this NPRM.
Importantly, the Department is not withdrawing this NPRM and
terminating this rulemaking proceeding based upon a changed view of the
Secretary's authority under section 432(a) of the HEA, or based upon
any preliminary determination about the limitations of such authority.
See Missouri v. Biden, No. 24-cv-1316, ECF No. 57 (granting preliminary
injunction). Rather, the Department continues to believe that the NPRM
is authorized by the Secretary's longstanding and existing authority
under the HEA, as explained in the NPRM. See 89 FR 27564.
We do not intend for a final rule to be issued on this NPRM. Were
the Department to issue a regulation in this area in the future, it
would be bound by the requirements of Section 492(a) and (b) of the
HEA, 20 U.S.C. 1098a(a) and (b).
Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3, braille,
large print, audiotape, compact disc, or other accessible format.
Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of
Federal Regulations at <a href="http://www.govinfo.gov">www.govinfo.gov</a>. At this site you can view this
document, as well as all other Department documents published in the
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PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the
site.
You may also access Department documents published in the Federal
Register by using the article search feature at
<a href="http://www.Federalregister.gov">www.Federalregister.gov</a>. Specifically, through the advanced search
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published
by the Department.
Miguel Cardona,
Secretary of Education.
[FR Doc. 2024-30606 Filed 12-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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