Rule2024-31217
Improving Income Driven Repayment for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program; Correction
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 31, 2024
Effective
December 31, 2024
Issuing agencies
Education Department
Abstract
On July 10, 2023, the Department of Education (Department) published in the Federal Register final regulations amending regulations related to income-driven repayment. This document corrects a technical error in the regulations. This document does not contain any substantive changes to the regulations.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 250 (Tuesday, December 31, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 250 (Tuesday, December 31, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 107000-107001]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31217]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Part 685
[Docket ID ED-2023-OPE-0004]
RIN 1840-AD81
Improving Income Driven Repayment for the William D. Ford Federal
Direct Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL)
Program; Correction
AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.
ACTION: Correcting amendment.
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SUMMARY: On July 10, 2023, the Department of Education (Department)
published in the Federal Register final regulations amending
regulations related to income-driven repayment.
[[Page 107001]]
This document corrects a technical error in the regulations. This
document does not contain any substantive changes to the regulations.
DATES: Effective December 31, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce Honer, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20202.
Telephone: (202) 987-0750. Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e3a191968086cdab8c8d8691a38687cd848c95"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6220101701074c2a0d0c07102207064c050d14">[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: On July 10, 2023, the Department published
in the Federal Register a final rule amending regulations related to
income-driven repayment (88 FR 43820). Those final regulations
contained a technical error, which we are correcting. Specifically,
with respect to 34 CFR 685.209(k)(6)(i), we indicated in the preamble
to the final rule in a response to public comment that we were
modifying the regulations to exclude periods in which a borrower is in
an in-school deferment from counting toward the borrower's time to
forgiveness, and we explained our reasons for doing so, see, e.g., 88
FR 43855, but we inadvertently omitted that change in the regulatory
text. This notice corrects that inadvertent omission.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking, Negotiated Rulemaking, and Delayed
Effective Date
In accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C.
553, the Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity
to comment on proposed regulations. However, the APA provides that an
agency is not required to conduct notice-and-comment rulemaking when
the agency, for good cause, finds that notice and public comment
thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public
interest (5 U.S.C. 553(b)). There is good cause to waive rulemaking
here as unnecessary.
Rulemaking is ``unnecessary'' in those situations in which ``the
administrative rule is a routine determination, insignificant in nature
and impact, and inconsequential to the industry and to the public.''
Utility Solid Waste Activities Group v. EPA, 236 F.3d 749, 755 (D.C.
Cir. 2001), quoting U.S. Department of Justice, Attorney General's
Manual on the Administrative Procedure Act 31 (1947) and South Carolina
v. Block, 558 F. Supp. 1004, 1016 (D.S.C. 1983). The regulatory change
in this document is necessary to properly and accurately reflect the
outcome of the rulemaking process, by correcting a technical error:
regulatory text that was proposed and explained but inadvertently was
omitted from the final regulatory text. It reflects the substantive
rule stated in the preamble, which was the product of the notice and
comment process and does not establish any new substantive rule.
Therefore, the Department has determined that publication of a proposed
rule is unnecessary under 5 U.S.C. 553(b).
In addition, under section 492 of the Higher Education Act of 1965,
as amended (HEA) (20 U.S.C. 1098a), all regulations proposed by the
Department for programs authorized under title IV of the HEA are
subject to negotiated rulemaking requirements. Section 492(b)(2) of the
HEA provides that negotiated rulemaking may be waived for good cause
when doing so would be ``impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the
public interest.'' There is likewise good cause to waive the negotiated
rulemaking requirement in this case, since, as explained above, notice
and comment rulemaking is unnecessary and has already been conducted.
The APA generally requires that regulations be published at least
30 days before their effective date, unless the agency has good cause
to implement its regulations sooner (5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3)). As previously
stated, because the regulatory change corrects an error, there is good
cause to waive the delayed effective date in the APA and make the
correction effective as of the date of publication.
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 file,
braille, large print, audiotape, or 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 documents of this Department published
in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format
(PDF). To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is
available free at the site.
You may also access documents of the Department 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.
List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 685
Administrative practice and procedure; Colleges and universities;
Education; Loan programs--education; Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements; Student aid; Vocational education.
Nasser Paydar,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
Accordingly, the Secretary corrects 34 CFR part 685 by making the
following correcting amendment:
PART 685--WILLIAM D. FORD FEDERAL DIRECT LOAN PROGRAM
0
1. The authority citation for part 685 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070g, 1087a, et seq., unless otherwise
noted.
0
2. Section 685.209 is amended by revising paragraph (k)(6)(i) to read
as follows:
685.209 Income-driven repayment plans.
* * * * *
(k) * * *
(6) * * *
(i) A borrower may obtain credit toward forgiveness as defined in
paragraph (k) of this section for any months in which a borrower was in
a deferment or forbearance not listed in paragraph (k)(4)(iv) of this
section, other than periods in an in-school deferment, by making an
additional payment equal to or greater than their current IDR payment,
including a payment of $0, for a deferment or forbearance that ended
within 3 years of the additional repayment date and occurred after July
1, 2024.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2024-31217 Filed 12-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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