[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 244 (Friday, December 19, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 75771-75772]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-29734]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Chapter VI

[Docket ID ED-2014-OPE-0161]
RIN 1840-AD18


Negotiated Rulemaking Committee; Negotiator Nominations and 
Schedule of Committee Meetings--William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan 
Program

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of intent to establish negotiated rulemaking committee.

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SUMMARY: We announce our intention to establish a negotiated rulemaking 
committee to prepare proposed regulations governing the William D. Ford 
Federal Direct Loan (Federal Direct Loan) Program authorized under 
title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). The 
committee will include representatives of organizations or groups with 
interests that are significantly affected by the topics proposed for 
negotiations. We request nominations for individual negotiators who 
represent key stakeholder constituencies for the issues to be 
negotiated to serve on the committee, and we set a schedule for 
committee meetings.

DATES: We must receive your nominations for negotiators to serve on the 
committee on or before January 20, 2015. The dates, times, and 
locations of the committee meetings are set out in the Schedule for 
Negotiations section in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

ADDRESSES: Please send your nominations for negotiators to Wendy 
Macias, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street NW., Room 8017, 
Washington, DC 20006. Telephone: (202) 502-7526 or by email: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about the content of 
this notice, including information about the negotiated rulemaking 
process or the nomination submission process, contact: Wendy Macias, 
U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street NW., Room 8017, Washington, 
DC 20006. Telephone: (202) 502-7526 or by email: [email protected].
    For information about negotiated rulemaking in general, see The 
Negotiated Rulemaking Process for Title IV Regulations, Frequently 
Asked Questions at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/hea08/neg-reg-faq.html.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) toll free at 1-
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 3, 2014, we published a notice 
in the Federal Register (79 FR 52273) announcing our intent to 
establish a negotiated rulemaking committee under section 492 of the 
HEA to develop proposed regulations to allow more student borrowers of 
Federal Direct Loans to use a ``Pay as You Earn'' repayment plan in 
accordance with the Presidential Memorandum issued on June 9, 2014 
(available at www.whitehousce.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/09/presidential-memorandum-federal-student-loan-repayments). We also 
announced two public hearings at which interested parties could comment 
on the topic suggested by the U.S. Department of Education (Department) 
and suggest additional topics for consideration for action by the 
negotiated rulemaking committee. Those hearings were held on October 
23, 2014, in Washington, DC, and on November 4, 2014, in Anaheim, 
California. We invited parties to comment and submit topics for 
consideration in writing as well. Transcripts from the public hearings 
are available at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2015/index.html. Written comments submitted in response to the 
September 3, 2014, notice may be viewed through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at www.regulations.gov. Instructions for finding comments are 
available on the site under ``How to Use Regulations.gov'' in the Help 
section. Individuals can enter docket ID ED-2014-OPE-0124 in the search 
box to locate the appropriate docket.
    Regulatory Issues: After considering the information received at 
the regional hearings and the written comments, we have decided to 
establish a negotiating committee to (1) prepare proposed regulations 
to establish a new Pay as You Earn repayment plan for those not covered 
by the existing Pay as You Earn Repayment Plan in the Federal Direct 
Loan Program, and (2) establish procedures for Federal Family Education 
Loan (FFEL) Program loan holders to use to identify U.S. military 
servicemembers who may be eligible for a lower interest rate on their 
FFEL Program loans under section 527 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief 
Act (SCRA).
    Under the Department's current regulations, once a loan holder (the 
Secretary or a FFEL loan holder) receives a servicemember's written 
request and a copy of the servicemember's military orders, the maximum 
interest rate on any Federal Direct Loan or FFEL program loan made 
prior to the borrower entering active-duty status is six percent while 
the borrower is on active-duty status. (See 34 CFR 685.202(a)(4) and 
682.202(a)(8)). On August 25, 2014, the Department published Dear 
Colleague Letter GEN-14-16 (available at http://ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN1416.html) announcing that the Department had adopted new procedures 
for determining a borrower's eligibility for benefits under the SCRA 
and authorizing FFEL loan holders to adopt similar procedures. The 
Department now seeks to include those procedures in the regulations and 
to require FFEL loan holders to use those procedures.
    These topics are tentative. Topics may be added or removed as the 
process continues.
    We intend to select negotiators for the committee who represent the 
interests significantly affected by the topics proposed for 
negotiations. In so doing, we will follow the requirement in section 
492(b)(1) of the HEA that the individuals selected must have 
demonstrated expertise or experience in the relevant topics proposed 
for negotiations. We will also select individual negotiators who 
reflect the diversity among program participants, in accordance with 
section 492(b)(1) of the HEA. Our goal is to establish a committee that 
will allow significantly affected parties to be represented while 
keeping the committee size manageable.
    We generally select a primary and alternate negotiator for each 
constituency represented on the committee. The primary negotiator 
participates for the purpose of determining consensus. The alternate 
participates for the purpose of determining consensus in the absence of 
the primary. Either the primary or the alternate may speak during the 
negotiations.
    The committee may create subgroups on particular topics that may 
involve individuals who are not members of the committee. Individuals 
who are not

[[Page 75772]]

selected as members of the committee will be able to observe the 
committee meetings, will have access to the individuals representing 
their constituencies, and may be able to participate in informal 
working groups on various issues between the meetings.
    Constituencies: We have identified the following constituencies as 
having interests that are significantly affected by the topics proposed 
for negotiations. The Department plans to seat as negotiators 
individuals from organizations or groups representing these 
constituencies:
     Students.
     Legal assistance organizations that represent students.
     Consumer advocacy organizations.
     Groups representing U.S. military servicemembers or 
veterans.
     Financial aid administrators at postsecondary 
institutions.
     State attorneys general and other appropriate State 
officials.
     Institutions of higher education eligible to receive 
Federal assistance under title III, parts A, B, and F, and title V of 
the HEA, which include Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 
Hispanic-Serving Institutions, American Indian Tribally Controlled 
Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving 
Institutions, Predominantly Black Institutions, and other institutions 
with a substantial enrollment of needy students as defined in title III 
of the HEA.
     Two-year public institutions of higher education.
     Four-year public institutions of higher education.
     Private, nonprofit institutions of higher education.
     Private, for-profit institutions of higher education.
     FFEL Program lenders and loan servicers.
     FFEL Program guaranty agencies and guaranty agency 
servicers (including collection agencies).
    The goal of the committee is to develop proposed regulations that 
reflect a final consensus of the committee. Consensus means that there 
is no dissent by any member of the negotiating committee, including the 
committee member representing the Department. An individual selected as 
a negotiator will be expected to represent the interests of his or her 
organization or group and participate in the negotiations in a manner 
consistent with the goal of developing proposed regulations on which 
the committee will reach consensus. If consensus is reached, all 
members of the organization or group represented by a negotiator are 
bound by the consensus and are prohibited from commenting negatively on 
the resulting proposed regulations. The Department will not consider 
any such negative comments on the proposed regulations that are 
submitted by members of such an organization or group.
    Nominations: Nominations should include:
     The name of the nominee, the organization or group the 
nominee represents, and a description of the interests that the nominee 
represents.
     Evidence of the nominee's expertise or experience in the 
topics proposed for negotiations.
     Evidence of support from individuals or groups within the 
constituency that the nominee will represent.
     The nominee's commitment that he or she will actively 
participate in good faith in the development of the proposed 
regulations.
     The nominee's contact information, including address, 
phone number, and email address.
    For a better understanding of the negotiated rulemaking process, 
nominees should review The Negotiated Rulemaking Process for Title IV 
Regulations, Frequently Asked Questions at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/hea08/neg-reg-faq.html prior to committing 
to serve as a negotiator.
    Nominees will be notified whether or not they have been selected as 
negotiators as soon as the Department's review process is completed.
    Schedule for Negotiations: The committee will meet for three 
sessions on the following dates:

Session 1: February 24-26, 2015
Session 2: March 31-April 2, 2015
Session 3: April 28-30, 2015
Sessions will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    The committee meetings will be held at the U.S. Department of 
Education at: 1990 K Street NW., Eighth Floor Conference Center, 
Washington, DC 20006.
    The meetings are open to the public.
    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) by contacting Wendy Macias, U.S. Department 
of Education, 1990 K Street NW., Room 8017, Washington, DC 20006. 
Telephone: (202) 502-7526 or by email: [email protected].
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free 
Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the 
Code of Federal Regulations is available via the Federal Digital System 
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well 
as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF 
you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the 
site. You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at: 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1098a.

    Dated: December 16, 2014.
Lynn B. Mahaffie,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2014-29734 Filed 12-18-14; 8:45 am]
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