81 FR 90820 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Application and Employment Certification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 241 (December 15, 2016)

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is proposing a revision of an existing information collection.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 241 (Thursday, December 15, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 90820-90821]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30270]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No. ED-2016-ICCD-0144]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Application and Employment Certification for Public Service Loan 
Forgiveness

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 (44 
U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is proposing a revision of an existing 
information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
February 13, 2017.

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-2016-ICCD-
0144. 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. 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 Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Room 2E-347, 
Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Ian Foss, 202-377-3681.

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: Application and Employment Certification for 
Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
    OMB Control Number: 1845-0110.
    Type of Review: A revision of an existing information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 728,419.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 364,210.
    Abstract: Final regulations for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness 
(PSLF) Program were published in the Federal Register on October 23, 
2008 (73 FR

[[Page 90821]]

63256) and were codified in 34 CFR 685.219. These regulations require a 
borrower to submit an application for loan forgiveness to the U.S. 
Department of Education (the Department). To determine whether a 
borrower is eligible for loan forgiveness, the Department must confirm 
that the borrower was employed full-time by a qualifying public service 
organization at the time each of the required 120 payments was made. 
Because borrowers must make 120 payments on or after October 1, 2007 
before becoming eligible for forgiveness, the earliest that any 
borrower could apply for forgiveness under PSLF would be October 1, 
2017.
    The Department is creating an application for forgiveness and 
revising the Employment Certification Form which is already part of 
this collection. Pages 2 through 6 of the current Employment 
Certification Form will also be embedded in the application. Slight 
changes have been made to the language on the Employment Certification 
Form to increase consistency and understanding.

    Dated: December 13, 2016.
Kate Mullan,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2016-30270 Filed 12-14-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P