11. Department of Education · Major · Needs Congress
Terminate the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program
Printed page 354 11. Department of Education
“The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which prioritizes government and public sector work over private sector employment, should be terminated.”
What has happened
- Not started
The Department's final rule excluded employers that engage in enumerated illegal activities "such that they have a substantial illegal purpose", effective 2026-07-01, and set out how such an employer regains eligibility. The program itself remains in force; the Senate declined to disapprove the rule on 2026-05-20.
- Not started
Congress moved the other way. Section 82004 of Public Law 119-21 amended the Higher Education Act to count on-time payments under the new Repayment Assistance Plan toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness — preserving and extending the program in the administration's own reconciliation bill.
- Not started
Executive Order 14235, "Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness", directed a rulemaking to exclude employers engaged in illegal activities from the program. Its premise is that PSLF continues: it narrows who qualifies rather than ending the program.
Research log
What was searched, and what didn’t count as evidence
Research notes
- Negative search: no bill in the 119th Congress corpus would terminate Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The one PSLF bill on file, H.R. 4727 (2025-07-23), would codify Executive Order 14235; it was referred to committee.
- The Department corrected the final rule on 2026-03-13 (FR 2026-04978). Neither the rule nor the correction ends the program.
- Action
- eliminate
- Object
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness program
- ID
- 889