04.10.25

Rep. Courtney, DeSaulnier Reintroduce Legislation to Institute Major Reforms to Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Following Attacks from Trump Administration

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT), a senior member of the Education and Workforce Committee and Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee, reintroduced new legislation to institute major reforms to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. 

In 2007, President George W. Bush enacted the law creating PSLF to attract more Americans to careers like teaching, public health, and law enforcement by providing those who work in these critical professions with a mechanism to discharge the balance of their student loan following at least ten years of consistent, on-time payments. 

Unfortunately, borrowers have faced significant challenges in navigating the program and accessing loan relief. Now, dedicated public service workers relying on PSLF are facing immense uncertainty due to President Trump’s Executive Order, which directed the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Treasury to redefine ‘public service’ to align with the administration’s political agenda. 

The Strengthening Efforts for Relief and Vital Incentives for Community Service and Engagement Act, or the SERVICE Act, protects borrowers and strengthens the program by shortening the time to forgiveness from 120 payments (10 years) to 96 payments (eight years); providing borrowers with more flexibility to make qualifying payments; expanding deferment options in lieu of payments to include military service, cancer treatments, and other circumstances to count as qualifying months of payments; and improving borrowers’ rights and transparency.

“My office has heard from many people in public service professions who worked hard, followed the rules, but were still denied the PSLF relief they were promised. Now, public servants are facing even greater uncertainty following President Trump’s recent Executive Order seeking to renegotiate who is eligible to receive relief. That undermines Congressional intent and our promise to nurses, teachers, firefighters, and more. Congressman DeSaulnier and I are reintroducing the SERVICE Act to advocate on behalf of public servants and make the program more transparent, fairer, and easier for America's public service workers to qualify for this patriotic program,” said Courtney.  

“Millions of teachers, social workers, service members, and health care workers across this country asked what they can do for their country and responded by pursuing careers in public service. They make immeasurable contributions to our communities, but are compensated far less than their counterparts in the private sector,” said DeSaulnier. “As the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program comes under attack by the Trump Administration, I am proud to again lead this bill with Congressman Courtney that would make it easier for public servants to qualify for and access student debt relief, which will in turn encourage a new generation of young Americans to answer the call to serve.”

“The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) began as a way for the federal government to recruit quality candidates, and for borrowers to access life-changing debt relief while also serving their communities,” said Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03). “The SERVICE Act builds on the improvements the Biden-Harris Administration made to PSLF by reducing the number of monthly payments and simplifying the process borrowers use to achieve debt relief. It also represents Congressional Democrats’ commitment to improving our nation’s higher education system for students and their families.

Today’s action builds on Rep. Courtney’s work to improve and protect the PSLF program. Last week, he led his colleagues in expressing strong opposition to the Administration’s Executive Order to limit PSLF eligibility. He also introduced legislation in 2024 to help service members access student debt relief. In 2022, Courtney led legislation to make permanent the improvements to the PSLF program made under the Biden Administration and implement other commonsense reforms to help America’s public servants lower the cost of higher education.

The SERVICE Act is endorsed by: American Association of Colleges and Universities; TICAS; EdTrust; National Education Association; American Psychological Association; and National Association of Social Workers.

Specifically, the SERVICE Act: 

  • Reduces the number of qualifying payments from 120 payments to 96 payments 
  • Provides borrowers with streamlined pathways to debt relief by:
    • Allowing up to three months of prepayment to help borrowers prepare for future expenses while still progressing towards 96 qualifying payments; and
    • Codifying the Department of Education's (Department) buyback regulations which allows qualified borrowers who have completed 96 months of service, but not 96 payments to "buyback" the months they need to achieve debt relief.
  • Fixes program eligibility issues by:
    • Allowing independent contractors working public service jobs in states that cannot fill those roles with direct employees to qualify for PSLF; and 
    • Repealing the prohibition on receiving debt relief for the same service under PSLF and loan forgiveness for teachers.
  • Expands the qualifying deferments and forbearances allowed to include military service, cancer treatments, economic hardships, unemployment, and more.
  • Improves borrowers' rights and transparency by:
    • Creating an online web portal for borrowers to receive information from the Department, review their status in the program, and submit forms to the Department; and
    • Codifying the consideration process for borrowers to appeal to the Secretary if their loan cancellation is denied.

To read the fact sheet, click here.

To read a section-by-section, click here. 

To read the bill text, click here. 

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Sam Varie, 202-503-6102