[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 63 (Thursday, April 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16251-16252]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-8607]
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CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
Proposed Collection: Comment Request
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Corporation for National and Community Service
(hereinafter ``Corporation''), as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995 (PRA95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)). This program helps to
ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format,
reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized,
collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of
collection requirement on respondents can be properly assessed.
Currently, the Corporation is soliciting comments concerning two
proposed forms:
(1) A revision of its Federal Education Loan Forbearance Request
form (OMB #3045-0030), and
(2) A new form, entitled ``Interest Accrual Form''.
Copies of the forms can be obtained by contacting the office listed
below in the address section of this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the
ADDRESSES section on or before May 27, 1998.
The Corporation is particularly interested in comments which:
Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the
Corporation, including whether the information will have practical
utility;
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
Enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
Minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submissions of responses.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Levon Buller, National Service Trust,
Corporation for National and Community Service, Mail Stop 7200, 1201
New York Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C., 20525.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Levon Buller, (202) 606-5000, ext.
383.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
After completing a period of national service in an AmeriCorps
project, an AmeriCorps member receives an ``education award'' that can
be used to make a payment towards a student loan or pay for post-
secondary educational expenses. This award is an amount of money set
aside in the member's ``account'' in the National Service Trust Fund.
Members have seven years in which to draw against any unused balance.
By law, during the period of time the AmeriCorps members are
participating in national service, they are eligible for a postponement
(a forbearance) on the repayment of any qualified student loan they
have. The purpose of this is to temporarily suspend their obligation to
make loan payments while they are earning a minimal living allowance in
their national service position. Interest continues to accrue during
this period, but payments are not required.
Also, the Corporation's enabling legislation requires that it pay,
on behalf of AmeriCorps members, all or a portion of the interest that
accrues during their service period, if their loans were in forbearance
during their service and if they successfully complete their terms of
service. For an AmeriCorps member who serves in a full-time term (which
includes serving a minimum of 1700 hours) for a year or less, the
Corporation will pay all of the interest that accrued. For a person who
serves in anything less than a full-time term, the percentage of
accrued interest the Corporation pays is determined by a formula
included in the Trust's regulations. The legislative intent for paying
the interest is to keep the AmeriCorps members' qualified student loan
debts from increasing during their service period.
II. Current Action
Two forms with two separate sets of circumstances are being
addressed by this Federal Register notice. Each form will be
individually discussed below.
A. Federal Education Loan Forbearance Request--renewal (OMB #3045-
0030) (Proposed new title: Forbearance Request for National Service)
Currently, AmeriCorps members use an OMB-approved form entitled
``Federal Education Loan Forbearance Request'' to obtain certification
that they are in an approved national service position. The form also
serves as the borrower's official request to the loan companies for
forbearance. Since forbearance can be granted by the loan holder and
not the Corporation, the form requests of the loan holder that a
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forbearance be approved for the national service. The Corporation's
role is to verify that the borrower is an AmeriCorps member and is
eligible for this mandatory forbearance on qualified student loans. An
AmeriCorps member completes one part of the form and sends it to the
office of the National Service Trust. The Trust provides written
verification that the borrower is in an approved national service
position, then forwards the form to the loan holder at the address
provided by the AmeriCorps member. The loan holder will act upon the
request.
This form has been adopted by many of the larger loan holders
(e.g., Sallie Mae) and is given to their borrowers with the loan
holders' own logos at the top of the form. Indeed, the form was
originally developed with the assistance of Sallie Mae and
representatives of several student loan associations. Having a separate
form for forbearance based on AmeriCorps service clearly distinguishes
it from forbearance requests based on one of the other conditions for
which a borrower may be eligible (e.g., military service, employment in
certain low income areas, student status).
Several other loan holders have chosen to modify their own existing
forbearance request forms by including an additional option--
``AmeriCorps service'' or ``national service'' --to the choices already
available. The Corporation verifies national service participation
using all types of forms presented to it, on a loan holder's unique
form as well as the OMB approved form.
The form needs some minor revisions. First, we propose changing the
name of the form to better reflect its actual purpose--it is a form
used by a borrower to request forbearance on a qualified student loan
based on involvement in national service. Experience has shown that the
form could use a more useful set of instructions for explaining the
process for requesting forbearance and for completing the form.
The Corporation seeks to continue using this particular form,
albeit in a revised version. This is a voluntary form. It is one way to
provide verification to a loan holder that one of its borrowers is
eligible for the mandatory forbearance, at the same time allowing the
borrower to request the forbearance from the loan company. The
Corporation will continue its policy of verifying AmeriCorps
participation on any form the loan holder wishes to use. The current
form (Federal Education Loan Forbearance Request) is due to expire
September 30, 1998.
Type of Review: Renewal.
Agency: Corporation for National and Community Service.
Title: (Proposed new title) Forbearance Request for National
Service.
OMB Number: None.
Agency Number: None.
Affected Public: AmeriCorps participants and the holders of their
qualified student loans.
Total Respondents: 6,000 annually.
Frequency: Average of once per year per loan.
Average Time Per Response: One minute for the AmeriCorps member to
complete the form.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 100 hours.
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): None.
Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): None.
B. Interest Accrual--new form.
The Corporation pays all or a portion of the interest that accrues
during a period of national service for those who successfully complete
their service and have had their loans in forbearance during the
service. Currently, AmeriCorps members ask their loan holders to report
to the Corporation the amount of interest that accrued on their
qualified student loans while they were in their national service
position. When the Corporation receives this information, it is
reviewed for accuracy and is either paid or returned to the loan holder
for additional information.
This information comes to the Corporation is many formats, with
varying degrees of clarity and accuracy. Frequently, an amount of
interest is reported without any accompanying dates--there is no
indication of the period of time upon which the calculation was based.
The Corporation can only pay the interest that accrued while the
borrower was in the AmeriCorps program and the amount of interest the
loan holder reports includes interest that began accruing well before
or well after the national service period. Many times the Corporation
receives from a loan holder a printout of the member's account, from
which it is difficult or impossible to deduce the amount of interest
that accrued during the service period. Sometimes the information from
the loan holder reports interest that has accrued, but it is for a
period of time that is different from the service period.
This proposed form is intended to obtain clear and accurate
information from loan holders in order to expedite the interest
payments for AmeriCorps members. Members will complete the top section
and indicate their dates of service. Then, they will mail the form to
their loan holders where they will indicate the total amount of
interest that accrued between those dates (or indicate a daily accrual
amount), fill in the address where the payment should be sent, and
return the form to the National Service Trust for payment.
Type of Review: New.
Agency: Corporation for National and Community Service.
Title: Interest Accrual.
OMB Number: None.
Agency Number: None.
Affected Public: AmeriCorps members and the holders of their
qualified student loans.
Total Respondents: 6,000 annually.
Frequency: Average of once per year per loan.
Average Time Per Response: 2\1/2\ minutes, total (one minute for
the AmeriCorps member to complete the form and one and a half minutes
for the loan holder).
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 250 hours.
Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): None.
Total Burden Cost (operating/maintenance): None.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget
approval of the information collection request; they will also become a
matter of public record.
Dated: March 30, 1998.
Thomas L. Bryant,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 98-8607 Filed 4-1-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6050-28-P