[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 231 (Monday, December 2, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65975-65976]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26026]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No. ED-2019-ICCD-0117]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Borrower Defenses Regulations

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 
proposing a revision of an existing information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
January 2, 2020.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2019-ICCD-
0117. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal 
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the regulations.gov 
site is not available to the public for any reason, ED will temporarily 
accept comments at [email protected]. Please include the docket ID 
number and the title of the information collection request when 
requesting documents or submitting comments. Please note that comments 
submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period 
will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments 
submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the 
Director of the Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and 
Strategy Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, 
LBJ, Room 6W208, D, Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection

[[Page 65976]]

activities, please contact Beth Grebeldinger, 202-377-4018.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Education (ED), in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with 
an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing 
collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact 
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The 
Department of Education is especially interested in public comment 
addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to 
the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be 
processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden 
accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the 
Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, 
including through the use of information technology. Please note that 
written comments received in response to this notice will be considered 
public records.
    Title of Collection: Borrower Defenses Regulations.
    OMB Control Number: 1845-0142.
    Type of Review: A revision of an existing information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households; Private 
Sector.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 11,487.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 5,531.
    Abstract: The Department of Education (the Department) requests a 
revision of the current information collection associated with OMB 
Control Number 1845-0142 due to an increase in the number of borrowers 
asserting a borrower defense to repayment claim. The only change to the 
collection is an update to increase the number of respondents, 
responses and burden hours.
    The regulations in Sec.  685.222 provide a framework for the 
borrower defense individual and group process that applies to loans 
first disbursed on or after July 1, 2017 and before July 1, 2020, 
including descriptions of the circumstances under which group borrower 
defense claims could be considered, and the process the Department will 
follow for borrower defenses for a group. The regulations establish a 
process for review and determination of a borrower defense for groups 
identified by the Secretary for which the borrower defense is made 
regarding a Direct Loans for attendance at a closed school that has not 
provided financial protection currently available to the Secretary from 
which to recover any losses based on borrower defense claims, and for 
which there is no appropriate entity from which the Secretary can 
otherwise practicably recover such losses. The regulations also 
establish the process for groups identified by the Secretary for which 
the borrower defense is asserted with respect to Direct Loans to attend 
an open school.

    Dated: November 26, 2019.
Kate Mullan,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-26026 Filed 11-29-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P