President Donald Trump’s administration is taking the next step toward revamping key student-loan forgiveness programs.
On Thursday, the Department of Education announced it would be holding two public hearings to solicit feedback on its plans to refine the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program and income-driven repayment plans.
This is part of the negotiated rulemaking process, a lengthy process federal agencies are required to undergo to change existing regulations. The department said that public hearings will be held in person on April 29 and virtually on May 1.
“Not only will this rulemaking serve as an opportunity to identify and cut unnecessary red tape, but it will allow key stakeholders to offer suggestions to streamline and improve federal student aid programs,” Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron said in a statement.
A draft document the Department of Education posted on the Federal Register stated its intent to examine eligibility for PSLF, which forgives student debt for government and nonprofit workers after 10 years. It also said it would be looking to streamline the Pay As You Earn plan, which caps borrowers’ monthly payments at 10% of their discretionary income; and the income-contingent repayment plan, which caps borrowers’ monthly payments at 20% of their discretionary income.
Trump signed an executive order in early March aimed at limiting PSLF eligibility, and the announcement of public hearings appears to be the next step in carrying out that order. The department’s draft document said that the public sessions would work on “refining definitions of a qualifying employer for the purposes of determining eligibility” for PSLF.
These moves come as the Trump administration attempts to dismantle the Department of Education altogether. On March 20, Trump signed an executive order to begin eliminating the department, following the department’s firing of over 1,300 workers just over a week prior.
While the Trump administration cannot eliminate a federal agency without Congress, it has taken steps to gut the agency and is beginning to examine ways to transfer some of the department’s capabilities, like student loan management, to other agencies.
Some student-loan borrowers in public service previously told Business Insider that they were concerned about the fate of their relief under Trump’s proposed changes.
“We’ve sacrificed a big part of our lives, in order to stay within this program, and you can’t just change the rules as you go,” a borrower enrolled in PSLF said.
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