Public commenters urge Education Department to preserve IDR and PSLF, decry Project 2025 changes

Dozens of borrowers, advocates and public-interest workers told a U.S. Department of Education public hearing that changes tied to Project 2025 would “gut” income-driven repayment (IDR) and eliminate Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), leaving many unable to afford basic needs.

Persis Yu, deputy executive director and managing counsel of the Student Borrower Protection Center, told the panel, "We stand in strong opposition to the Trump administration's attempt to implement project 20 25, which calls for gutting and conferring payment options and eliminating public service loan forgiveness. Let's be clear." She said the changes would force "nurses, teachers, veterans, and others" to choose between paying student loans and essentials such as food.

The commenters tied the current debate to the Biden administration's SAVE plan and to decades of statute and administrative practice. Yu said Congress intended income-contingent repayment to include cancellation after a maximum period and that prior administrations refined protections to prevent lifetime debt. She noted that "student loan delinquencies are now skyrocketing with nearly 4,000,000 borrowers behind on their student loan payments."

Several speakers described personal stakes. Elizabeth Tang, a civil rights attorney working at a nonprofit, said she has made nearly 90 payments toward the 120 required for PSLF but that her balance remains above $300,000. "There is simply no way I could ever pay this off without IDR," Tang said, adding that losing IDR and PSLF would "drastically limit and foreclose choices and possibilities" for her and others.

Dr. Quentin Walls, who identified himself as a borrower with more than $500,000 in student debt and nearly 10 years in PSLF, argued for a simpler, unified repayment plan that preserves a 10% discretionary-income payment cap and a 25-year forgiveness timeline. Mary Lynn Hammer, a veteran default-management professional, urged that repayment systems be affordable, reduce principal, and remain understandable for the borrowers most at risk.

Speakers also warned that narrowing or weaponizing PSLF could thin the ranks of public-service workers. Third-year medical student Amelia Mercado said PSLF is a "critical bridge" that enabled her to choose a career in public-service medicine and to care for vulnerable patients at Ben Taub Hospital in Houston.

Comments at the hearing were public testimony and did not include departmental votes or formal actions. Participants urged the department to maintain IDR and PSLF protections and to avoid rule changes that, in their view, would push borrowers into delinquency or default.

The hearing’s public-comment portion also included calls for clarity about timelines on other rulemaking items and acknowledgment from the department staff of logistical and technical support behind the event. The department has invited written comments and follow-up submissions as part of the rulemaking process.