Public Service Loan Forgiveness Is In Danger. Here’s How You Can Help Save It.

The 2015 federal budget is proposing deep cuts to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. It’s time to make your voice heard.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program allows federal student loan borrowers to wipe out these loan balances after 10 years if they work for a qualifying public service employer.
Qualifying employment is any employment with a federal, state, or local government agency, entity, or organization or a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Certain private not-for-profit employers may be eligible as well if it provides certain public services.
For the purpose of PSLF, it doesn’t matter what type of employment you perform with the organization. That means the Chief of Neurosurgery at UCLA Medical Center will qualify for PSLF, but so will the janitor at City Hall.
Direct Loans and Direct Consolidation Loans are the only federal student loans eligible for PSLF.
How The 2015 Federal Budget Will Impact Public Service Loan Forgiveness
The President’s 2015 budget will limit Public Service Loan Forgiveness to $57,500. That doesn’t seem to be a problem at first blush because the number corresponds to the maximum federal loan amount that an undergraduate can take out. But look deeper and you’ll see the problem.
Many of the positions with public service employers require (or at least strongly encourage) graduate educations. Teachers, doctors, lawyers, accountants and social workers are just some of the people who have graduate degrees. With the maximum amount of federal student aid for graduate degrees capped at $138,500 (including the $57,500 in undergraduate limits), it’s easy to see that the most highly-educated professionals will no longer be eligible for PSLF under the proposed 2015 budget.
Those Changes Will Impact Who Goes Into Public Service
Many highly employed people choose public service in part because of the ability to get relief from federal student loan debts after a decade of service. They sacrifice a good chunk of their prime earning years for the public good, and many remain in public service once their decade is completed.
If PSLF is limited, those with graduate degrees won’t find public service quite as compelling. They’re more likely to opt for better-paying jobs in the private sector, which will hurt our public service infrastructure.
At the same time, those who are already in public service jobs – teachers, medical personnel, and other important professionals – are going to lose the benefit of the bargain they struck when they took their jobs. They have been working at wages below the private sector with the expectation that they’ll be eligible for federal student loan relief down the line. For many, that simply won’t be the case.
How You Can Help
There’s an online petition as whitehouse.gov to support those who work to help you. Click here and let your voice be heard.
You should also get in touch with your elected representatives and let them know that you oppose any attempts to limited PSLF.