The House and Senate have passed in conference legislation that would forgive balances due on direct student loans by borrowers who have been full-time public service professionals for 10 years and have made 120 contingent payments on their loans.
HR-2669, introduced by Rep. George Miller, D-CA, includes some loan industry reforms that earlier prompted a veto threat from the White House, though the president has reportedly agreed to sign the bill.
The bill also provides a $5,000 credit toward the loan balance of graduates that go into public service.
The House Committee on Education and Labor stated that the bill would "pay for itself" by offsetting costs by reducing federal subsidies to lenders, and called it the largest effort to help students since the GI Bill.
The bill would boost college financial aid by about $19 billion over the next five years while reducing federal subsidies paid to lenders in the college loan industry by the same amount.
