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Policy and Advocacy Legislation Public Service Loan Forgiveness Letter to Legislator
Policy and Advocacy Legislation Public Service Loan Forgiveness Letter to Legislator

AccessLex Institute Supports the PSLF Payment Completion Fairness Act Which Would Simplify and Improve the PSLF Program

The Honorable Tim Walberg
Chairman
House Education and Workforce Committee
2176 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Robert Scott
Ranking Member
House Education and Workforce Committee
2328 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Walberg and Ranking Member Scott:

AccessLex Institute® is pleased to offer its support for H.R. 3267, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Payment Completion Fairness Act. Introduced on May 8, 2025 by Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01), the PSLF Payment Completion Fairness Act would simplify and improve the PSLF process by removing the requirement that an applicant be employed in a public service job at the time of student loan
Forgiveness.

AccessLex Institute, in partnership with its nearly 200 nonprofit and state-affiliated ABA-approved member law schools, has been committed to improving access to legal education and to maximizing the affordability and value of a law degree since 1983. The AccessLex Center for Legal Education Excellence® advocates for policies that make legal education work better for students and society alike and conducts research on the most critical issues facing legal education today.

PSLF has been a vital recruitment tool encouraging the best and the brightest to serve millions of Americans through public service careers that benefit communities across this country, especially those in high-need and rural areas. In fact, a survey conducted by the American Bar Association on the impact of student debt on young lawyers found that 80% of those pursuing PSLF were in public service careers because of the forgiveness program. Additionally, the survey found that the program’s long-term impact was just as significant, with 73% intending to persist in the public service space after obtaining forgiveness.

However, despite these benefits, the program risks becoming undesirable because of program requirements that have caused serious implementation issues since the opportunity to apply for forgiveness first became available. One such issue is the requirement that applicants be employed in a public service job at the time that PSLF forgiveness is received. For applicants who have devoted 10 years of their lives to public service careers and completed 120 payments, this requirement would make them ineligible for forgiveness if they were to change employers during the often-lengthy period between when they apply for forgiveness and when they receive it.

Removing the requirement of continued public service employment at the time of forgiveness would simplify the PSLF application process and improve applicant success rates, which would in turn incentivize more Americans to pursue jobs as public servants. That is why AccessLex Institute supports the PSLF Payment Completion Fairness Act. It strengthens the promise of PSLF and helps ensure that the federal government provides the student loan forgiveness that Congress promised in recognition of the tremendous benefits that public servants provide.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected] or Nancy Conneely, Vice President of Policy, at [email protected].

Sincerely,
Christopher P. Chapman
President and Chief Executive Officer
AccessLex Institute®

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