— The Education Department last year announced that it was using emergency authorities related to the pandemic to temporarily suspend traditional rules for the long-troubled PSLF program. The initiative allows borrowers to retroactively receive credit towards loan forgiveness even if they had the wrong type of federal loan or were enrolled in an ineligible payment plan. — Biden administration officials have frequently touted their expansion of PSLF as among their major accomplishments on student loans. So far, more than 175,000 borrowers have received more than $9.5 billion of loan forgiveness under the program. That's among the largest chunks of student debt that the Biden administration has canceled. — But as the Oct. 31 expiration of the program approaches, there's growing evidence that many borrowers are still not applying for the relief even though they might be eligible. And there's growing pressure from Democrats who don't want the administration to sunset a popular program on the eve of the midterm elections. — A recent analysis by University of Virginia researchers estimated that as many as 3.5 million borrowers may be eligible for receiving some credit toward loan forgiveness under the waiver program. A research paper published last week by the Richmond Fed warned that the looming expiration of the PSLF waiver creates "a risk that many eligible beneficiaries will not access benefits," citing the administrative burden that many borrowers still face in applying for the relief. — The Education Department has not yet finished work on a massive data-matching effort that would automatically identify potentially thousands of additional federal workers and military service members who may be eligible for PSLF. Department officials have said they're eyeing later this year to launch that effort — but it's not clear whether that would be after the Oct. 31 expiration of the waiver. — Biden administration officials have argued that the PSLF expansion was needed in the first place because of the high rate of rejection — upwards of 98 percent — in the program during the Trump administration. But federal data shows that rejection rate has remained virtually unchanged during the Biden administration for borrowers applying under the traditional PSLF rules. — The vast majority of the thousands of borrowers receiving PSLF are eligible because of the Biden administration's policy temporarily suspending those traditional rules. Only about 10,000 borrowers have successfully won PSLF under the traditional rules during the Biden administration compared to the 175,000 borrowers receiving relief under the waiver. — The Education Department "is continuing to assess the PSLF waiver, but we encourage students and borrowers to apply before the October 31 deadline to ensure they get the benefits of the waiver," an agency spokesperson said in a statement. — Major unions and progressive groups have urged the administration to extend the PSLF waiver beyond Oct. 31. They're calling for the Education Department to extend the temporary rules "through at least 2023" as well as expand it to include additional categories of borrowers. — Democratic state attorneys general, some of which have investigated PSLF errors, are also pressuring the administration to act. In a letter last month, the 20 attorneys general said they had "grave concerns about plans to end the waiver" at the end of October. They cited confusion by borrowers about the program and questions about the capacity of the department's new dedicated PSLF loan servicer to immediately begin rushing borrowers through the complex application process in just several months. —A matter of timing: The Education Department has proposed new rules that would permanently make it easier for public service workers to count payments toward the 10 years of credit they need to have their debt forgiven under the program. But those proposed rules — which are not as generous to borrowers as the temporary waiver — aren't set to take effect until next July. —GOP lawmakers, meanwhile, have blasted the administration's expansion of Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which they view as a giveaway to an important Democratic constituency and unfair subsidies for doctors and lawyers who don't need help repaying their debts. House Republicans signaled last week that the program would once again be on the chopping block if they retake control of Congress next year. IT'S MONDAY, AUGUST 8. WELCOME TO MORNING EDUCATION. Please send tips and feedback to your host at mstratford@politico.com or to my colleagues: Juan Perez Jr. at jperez@politico.com and Bianca Quilantan at bquilantan@politico.com . Follow us on Twitter: @Morning_Edu and @POLITICOPro .
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