80 FR 32944 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Borrower Defenses against Loan Repayment

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 111 (June 10, 2015)

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 3507(j)), ED is requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct an emergency review of a new information collection.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 111 (Wednesday, June 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32944-32945]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14184]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2015-ICCD-0072]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Borrower Defenses against Loan Repayment

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 3507(j)), ED is requesting the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) to conduct an emergency review of a new information collection.

DATES: An emergency review has been requested in accordance with the 
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 3507 (j)), due to an unanticipated event. 
Approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been 
requested by June 4, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted in response to this notice should be 
submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID number ED-2015-ICCD-
0072 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 note 
that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the 
comment period will not be accepted; ED will ONLY accept comments 
during the comment period

[[Page 32945]]

in this mailbox when the regulations.gov site is not available. Written 
requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail or 
delivery should be addressed to the Director of the Information 
Collection Clearance Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 
Maryland Avenue SW, LBJ, Mailstop L-OM-2-2E319, Room 2E103, Washington, 
DC 20202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Colleen McGinnis, (202) 377-4330.

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 Against Loan Repayment.
    OMB Control Number: 1845-NEW.
    Type of Review: A new information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 150,000.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 150,000.
    Abstract: This is a request for an emergency collection to 
facilitate the collection of information for borrowers who believe they 
have cause to invoke the borrower defenses against repayment of a loan 
as noted in regulation. This collection includes Web site language that 
will provide minimum information that requests need to include for 
consideration as well as a separate specific attestation form. These 
processes are being offered to aid in preserving borrowers' rights and 
to meet the fiduciary responsibilities of the federal student loan 
programs. These collections will allow the Department of Education to 
inform borrowers and loan servicers of the information needed to review 
and adjudicate requests for relief under borrower defenses regulations.
    Additional Information: Section 455(h) of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 1087e(h) provides that the U.S. 
Department of Education (Department) defines by regulation which claims 
against a school constitute defenses to repayment of a loan under the 
Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) program. Following a negotiated 
rulemaking process, the Department published amendments to the Direct 
Loan program regulations on December 1, 1994. These regulations 
included borrower defenses specified in 34 CFR 685.206(c). The 
regulation, in part, states ``(c)(1) [i]n any proceeding to collect on 
a Direct Loan, the borrower may assert as a defense against repayment, 
an act or omission of the school attended by the student that would 
give rise to a cause of action against the school under applicable 
State law.'' Prior to 2015, the borrower defense identified above was 
rarely asserted by any borrowers and no specific methods of collecting 
information was defined or found necessary. In the 20 years prior, the 
Department received 5 claims for borrower defense. Over the last 
several months, the Department has received over 1000 such claims due 
to a building debt activism movement as well as the notoriety of 
Corinthian's collapse, creating a need for a clearer process for 
potential claimants. This exponential increase in demand was unexpected 
and outside of the Department's control.

    Dated: June 5, 2015.
Stephanie Valentine,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2015-14184 Filed 6-9-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P