Aug 8 -- Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED), invites comment by October 10, 2023 regarding the extension of the Income Driven Repayment Plan (IDR) Request for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans and Federal Family Education Loan Programs.
The Department of Education (Department) requested emergency processing for this revised information collection, 1845–0102; and therefore, is requesting the 60-day public comment period for the full ICR. The Department updated the IDR Request Form that is used by a borrower to enroll, recertify, or change their IDR plan to support the provisions identified for early implementation in the final rule published July 10, 2023, and the provisions in the FUTURE ACT related to borrower consent to use tax information for IDR participation. Specifically, the form has been updated to include a new section related to the borrower's consent to use tax information for this application and on an ongoing basis and to reflect the name change of the REPAYE Plan to the SAVE Plan. The form has also been updated to remove the need for spousal income information in the situation where a borrower files taxes separately from their spouse. This removes the need to collect the signature of the spouse as the spouse's information is no longer necessary to participate in any IDR plan. Additional updates were made to improve readability and the borrower experience.
The Department received emergency clearance on June 28, 2023, since normal processing would not enable the Department to implement the required regulatory changes by July 30, 2023, that would have resulted in several months of delays in providing eligible borrowers financial relief and not meeting the requirements of the Master Calendar. Any delay in discharging loans for eligible borrowers would have increased the potential for public harm through delayed financial relief to borrowers who have been employed in public service, and the possibility of additional interest accrual and an increase in overall debt by affected borrowers being unable to receive the relief that is allowed to them under the new regulations, causing them further financial harm. This notice allows the public to comment on the full ICR under the 60-day comment period.
The Department requested emergency processing from OMB for this information collection request on July 26, 2023. [See
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAViewICR?ref_nbr=202307-1845-010] As a result, the Department is providing the public with the opportunity to comment under the full comment period. Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before October 10, 2023.
Rule (7.10.23): Improving Income Driven Repayment for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-13112
FSA Income-Driven Repayment Plans:
https://studentaid.gov/idr
Draft information collection instrument and technical documentation:
https://www.regulations.gov/docket/ED-2023-SCC-0145/document
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-16927
