April 29, 2025 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Education (ED) will host the first hearing today for its Negotiated Rulemaking (Neg Reg) aimed at overhauling the rules that protect people from unaffordable student loan debt. Register for the hearing livestream here.
Persis Yu, Deputy Executive Director and Managing Counsel for Student Borrower Protection Center, is scheduled to provide public comment during today’s hearing. View her full comment here.
“We stand in strong opposition to the Trump Administration’s attempts to implement Project 2025, which calls for gutting Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) options and eliminating Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Let’s be clear, the Trump Administration’s assault on IDR and PSLF isn’t reform—it’s retaliation. These actions would force nurses, teachers, veterans, and others who have dedicated their careers to serve our communities, to choose between paying their monthly student loan bills… and putting food on their tables. Borrowers everywhere would be driven further into debt, while relief is pushed further out of reach,” said Yu.
To schedule an interview with Persis Yu or another SBPC expert, please email press@protectborrowers.org
Borrowers from across the country will also provide public comment emphasizing the importance that affordable payment and relief programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) have had on their lives. Among those borrowers who provide comment will be Rachel Dubreuil, a public school teacher and AFT member who provided a declaration in AFT’s lawsuit against ED for denying borrowers’ access to PSLF. From Rachel’s declaration:
“As a teacher, I rely on access to IBR to make my monthly federal student loan payments more affordable. I also rely on the promise of PSLF to provide me with a pathway to forgiveness after making 120 qualifying payments and qualifying work, which I have worked hard to keep track of since I began my career. “…If my loans are not forgiven through PSLF, I will not be able to afford to pay them off with a teacher’s salary, and I will be forever tethered to this debt.”
The second public hearing on this Neg Reg is scheduled for Thursday, May 1, 2025, 9-12 PM and 1-4 PM, and the 30-day period for submitting written public comment will close on May 5.
What: First hearing for ED’s Neg Reg on student debt
When: Tuesday, April 29, 2025—9 AM to 12 PM ET and 1 PM to 4 PM
Where: 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202 or register for the livestream here.
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About Student Borrower Protection Center
Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) is a nonprofit organization focused on eliminating the burden of student debt for millions of Americans. We engage in advocacy, policymaking, and litigation strategy to rein in industry abuses, protect borrowers’ rights, and advance racial and economic justice.
Learn more at protectborrowers.org or follow SBPC on Twitter @theSBPC.