[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 8, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15141-15142]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-06000]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket No.: ED-2025-SCC-0015]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Income
Driven Repayment Plan Request for the William D. Ford Federal Direct
Loans and Federal Family Education Loan Programs
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
requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct an
emergency review of a revision of a currently approved collection.
DATES: The Department requested emergency processing from OMB for this
information collection request on March 21, 2025. As a result, the
Department is providing the public with the opportunity to comment
under the full comment period. Interested persons are invited to submit
comments on or before June 9, 2025.
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-2025-SCC-0015.
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, the Department 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 after the comment period will not be accepted.
Written requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail
or delivery should be addressed to Carolyn Rose, U.S. Department of
Education, Federal Student Aid, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC
20202.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to
collection activities, please contact Carolyn Rose, (202) 453-5967.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department, 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. The Department is soliciting comments on the
proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below.
The Department 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: Income Driven Repayment Plan Request for the
William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans and Federal Family Education Loan
Programs.
OMB Control Number: 1845-0102.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 9,500,000.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 3,135,000.
Abstract: The Department of Education (Department) is requesting an
emergency clearance for this revision of the information collection,
1845-0102. Additionally, we are requesting that the full clearance
package be filed at the same time and that the Department will initiate
the 60-day public comment period upon notification of emergency
approval.
Section 493C of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (the
HEA), authorizes the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan for borrowers
who obtain student loans through the Federal Family Education Loan
(FFEL) Program and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan)
Program. Section 455(d) of the HEA authorizes income-contingent
repayment plans for borrowers who obtain student loans through the
Direct Loan Program. The regulations that govern the IBR plan are in 34
CFR 682.215 and 685.221. The regulations that govern the income-
contingent repayment plans are in 34 CFR 685.209. There are two income-
contingent repayment plans: the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Plan, and the
Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan. These plans are collectively
referred to as Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plans. In 2021, the
Secretary initiated a negotiated rulemaking process to create a new IDR
plan. As a result of these negotiations, a final Rule was published
July 10, 2023, introducing the Saving on an Affordable Education (SAVE)
Plan as a replacement for the REPAYE Plan and making additional changes
to all IDR plans to make them more consistent. An injunction was
initially filed on August 9, that prevented the implementation of the
provisions specific to the SAVE Plan and on February 18, 2025, the
injunction was expanded to enjoin the entirety of the Final Rule that
went into effect July 1, 2024, which included provisions that had
already been implemented related to the other IDR plans.
Under the statute, a borrower who wishes to repay under an Income
Contingent or Income Based repayment plan must annually provide their
Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) reported to the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS). A borrower must also annually certify their family size.
If a borrower's AGI is not available, or if the borrower believes
that their current AGI does not reasonably reflect their current
income, regulations allow that they may provide alternative
documentation of income for purposes of determining whether they (1)
qualify for the repayment plan requested, (2) qualify to continue
making income-driven payments, and (3) calculate their monthly payment
amount.
The Department is updating the IDR Request Form that is used by a
borrower to enroll, recertify, or change their IDR plan to support the
provisions identified by the court injunction issued February 18, 2025.
Specifically, the form is being updated to remove the SAVE plan as an
option for borrowers to select and remove the other early-implemented
components of the Final Rule that apply to the other IDR plans (i.e.,
revert the definition of family size to the pre- July 1, 2024,
definition for all IDR plans and remove references to interest subsidy
during repayment), additional updates to improve clarity and the
borrower
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experience as a result of these changes have also been made.
James Bergeron,
Acting Under Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-06000 Filed 4-7-25; 8:45 am]
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