2023-00160. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Federal Direct Loan Program Regulations for Forbearance and Loan Rehabilitation

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Department is proposing an extension without change of a currently approved information collection request (ICR).

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before February 8, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for proposed information collection requests should be submitted within 30 days of publication of this notice. Click on this link www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain to access the site. Find this information collection request (ICR) by selecting “Department of Education” under “Currently Under Review,” then check the “Only Show ICR for Public Comment” checkbox. Reginfo.gov provides two links to view documents related to this information collection request. Information collection forms and instructions may be found by clicking on the “View Information Collection (IC) List” link. Supporting statements and other supporting documentation may be found by clicking on the “View Supporting Statement and Other Documents” link.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Beth Grebeldinger, 202-377-4018.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department 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: Federal Direct Loan Program Regulations for Forbearance and Loan Rehabilitation.

OMB Control Number: 1845-0119.

Type of Review: An extension without change of a currently approved ICR.

Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and households.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 129,027.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 35,094.

Abstract: This information collection for the Direct Loan (DL) Program regulations is related to regulations for forbearance in § 685.205 and reasonable and affordable loan rehabilitation in § 685.211. The Department of Education is requesting an extension without change of the current burden calculated for this information collection. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and loan payment pause, there is not sufficient information to estimate burden changes. These regulations provide additional flexibilities for DL borrowers and permit oral requests for forbearance, as well as allow a borrower to object to the initially established reasonable and affordable loan repayment amount. In addition, if a borrower incurs changes to his or her financial circumstances, the borrower can provide supporting documentation to change the amount of the reasonable and affordable loan monthly repayment amount. There has been no change to the regulatory language.

Dated: January 4, 2023.

Juliana Pearson,

PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.