Agency Information Collection Activities: William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments Form, 18287-18290 [2014-07146]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 2014 / Notices Average Burden per Response: 20 minutes. Frequency: On Occasion. UOCAVA requires the States to allow Uniformed Services personnel, their family members, and overseas citizens to use absentee registration procedures and to vote by absentee ballot in general, special, primary, and runoff elections for Federal offices. The Act covers members of the Uniformed Services and the merchant marine to include the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Public Health Service and their eligible dependents, Federal civilian employees overseas, and overseas U.S. citizens not affiliated with the Federal Government. Local Election Officials (LEO) process voter registration and absentee ballot applications, send absentee ballots to voters, and receive and process the voted ballots in counties, cities, parishes, townships and other jurisdictions within the U.S. LEOs, independently and in relation to their respective State election officials, are often one of the most important pieces in the absentee voting process for UOCAVA citizens. The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) conducts the post-election survey of Local Election Officials to evaluate the effectiveness of the overall absentee voting program. The information collected be qualitative and will be used for overall program evaluation, management and improvement, and to compile the congressionally-mandated report to the President and Congress. Dated: March 27, 2014. Aaron Siegel, Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense. College). This meeting will be open to the public. DATES: The meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 23, 2014, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Thursday, April 24, 2014, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time Zone. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Naval Postgraduate School, Executive Briefing Center, 1 University Circle, Monterey, CA. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Jaye Panza, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, 93943–5001, telephone number 831–656–2514. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the meeting is to elicit the advice of the Board on the Naval Service’s Postgraduate Education Program and the collaborative exchange and partnership between NPS and the Air Force Institute of Technology. The board examines the effectiveness with which the NPS is accomplishing its mission. To this end, the board will inquire into the curricula; instruction; physical equipment; administration; state of morale of the student body, faculty, and staff; fiscal affairs; and any other matters relating to the operation of the NPS as the board considers pertinent. Individuals without a DoD government/CAC card require an escort at the meeting location. For access, information, or to send written comments regarding the NPS BOA contact Ms. Jaye Panza, Designated Federal Officer, Naval Postgraduate School, 1 University Circle, Monterey, CA 93943–5001 or by fax 831–656–3145 by April 18, 2014. Dated: March 25, 2014. N.A. Hagerty-Ford, Commander, Office of the Judge Advocate General, U.S. Navy, Federal Register Liaison Officer. [FR Doc. 2014–07198 Filed 3–31–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 5001–06–P [FR Doc. 2014–07227 Filed 3–31–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Navy DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Subcommittee Meeting of the Board of Advisors to The President, Naval Postgraduate School [Docket ID ED–2013–OPE–0063] Department of the Navy, DoD. Notice of open meeting. AGENCY: ACTION: Pursuant to the provisions of The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–463, as amended), notice is hereby given that the following meeting of the aforementioned subcommittee will be held. (Parent Committee is: Board of Advisors (BOA) to the Presidents of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and the Naval War mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:02 Mar 31, 2014 Jkt 232001 Agency Information Collection Activities: William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program and Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments Form Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Secretary responds to public comments on, and announces SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 18287 approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of, the Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form. DATES: This information collection is effective July 1, 2014. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information related to the Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form, contact Brian Smith or Pamela Moran at (202) 502–7551 or (202) 502– 7732 or by email at: Brian.Smith@ed.gov or Pamela.Moran@ed.gov. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–800–877– 8339. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Education (the Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements so that we can minimize the reporting burden on the public. Providing an opportunity for comment also helps the public understand the Department’s information collection requirements and how the requested data must be provided. On July 29, 2013, the Secretary published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) (78 FR 45618) that solicited comments on proposed regulations and collections of information, including the proposed Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form (identified as 1845–NEW1 in the NPRM). The Secretary published final regulations based on the NPRM on November 1, 2013 (78 FR 65768). This notice responds to comments on and announces OMB’s approval of the form. The Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form for the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program has been approved under OMB Control Number 1845–0120 with an expiration date of March 31, 2017. In the NPRM, the Department estimated the burden to complete and submit the proposed version of the form. The Department received comments from the public on all aspects of the form and on its intended use. We addressed comments about the use of E:\FR\FM\01APN1.SGM 01APN1 18288 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 2014 / Notices the form in the final regulations published on November 1, 2013 (see 78 FR 65768, 65776). In this notice, we address comments about the content of, and burden estimates associated with, the form. The OMB-approved version of the form contains several changes from the draft form that was discussed in the NPRM and made available in the public docket on www.regulations.gov as document ID ED–2013–OPE–0063– 0005. We explain the major changes in the Analysis of Comments and Changes section of the preamble that follows. Analysis of Comments and Major Changes In response to the Secretary’s invitation in the NPRM, 25 parties submitted comments on the proposed regulations. Of these commenters, nine provided comments on the content of the proposed Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form. An analysis of the comments and of the major changes to the Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form since publication of the NPRM and final regulations follows. We group major issues according to subject. Generally we do not address minor changes to improve clarity, or technical corrections, such as language that we have revised or added to the form to conform to the final regulatory language. Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments Form mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Formatting and Layout Comments: Several commenters expressed concerns about the length and complexity of the proposed form. The commenters felt that the proposed form was unnecessarily long and inefficiently arranged. In particular, commenters requested that we present the questions requesting income and expenses information from the borrower in a more concise and manageable format. One commenter submitted a revised version of the form that consolidated several sections from the proposed form into one section and used a column format for reporting monthly income and expenses. The commenter’s revised version of the form also included an ‘‘Instructions’’ section with detailed information on how to complete the form and information describing the various ‘‘Monthly Income’’ and ‘‘Monthly Expenses’’ categories. The commenter believed that its revised version of the form would be more VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:02 Mar 31, 2014 Jkt 232001 borrower-friendly and would help to ensure borrower success in the rehabilitation process. Discussion: We agree that the commenter’s revised version of the form is generally more clear and concise than the version of the form included with the NPRM. We agree that presenting all of the data elements relating to income and expenses in one section makes the form more borrower-friendly. We also believe that presenting these data elements in a column format provides more visual clarity to the form. In addition, we agree that a separate ‘‘Instructions’’ section is helpful to borrowers. An ‘‘Instructions’’ section serves as an easy reference for borrowers and provides more detail than can easily be included in the sections of the form that borrowers are required to complete. Including a separate ‘‘Instructions’’ section is also consistent with most of our other loan servicing forms. We also believe that the additional changes that we have made, discussed in the ‘‘Changes’’ section below, make the form easier to read and more manageable for borrowers. Changes: We have used the commenter’s proposed revision as the basis for the final version of the form. We have also made the form more accessible to borrowers with visual impairments. We have increased the font size for most of the form to 11 point from 9 point and now include long sections of text in column format. We have also accepted the commenters’ recommendation to streamline the form by consolidating the income and expenses information into one section (‘‘Section 2: Household Income and Reasonable and Necessary Monthly Expenses’’), and we have used a column format for the data elements that request borrower income and expenses information. In addition, we have eliminated the check boxes asking borrowers to indicate whether they are paid weekly or biweekly because a loan holder does not need to know how many times per month a borrower receives a paycheck to determine the borrower’s monthly income. Finally, we have added an ‘‘Instructions’’ section to the form that provides general information on how to fill out the form and more detailed information about the specific data elements in Section 2. Borrower Privacy Concerns Comments: Several commenters noted that the form requested highly sensitive financial information from the borrower. These commenters stated that this type of information should only be collected PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 when fully justified by the necessity of its intended use. In addition to requesting information about the borrower, the proposed version of the form requested the name, Social Security Number (SSN), and birth date of the borrower’s spouse. Commenters raised privacy concerns about collecting this information, arguing that requesting such information was intrusive and not necessary for the purpose of the form. One commenter recommended removing the birth date data element for the borrower’s spouse but requiring the borrower to report marital status. One commenter noted that the proposed version of the form required borrowers to report taxable and untaxed income separately. The commenter stated that, unless the intent is to exclude untaxed income from the calculation of monthly income, there is no reason to report it separately from taxable income. The commenter asked that the Department clarify how different sources of income will be considered, if the Department retains the requirement that the two types of income be reported separately on the form. One commenter recommended that we require a borrower to provide monthly income information for individuals in the borrower’s household other than the borrower and the borrower’s spouse. This commenter also recommended that the form require the borrower to identify the borrower’s current employer. Discussion: We share the commenters’ concerns about protecting the privacy of borrowers completing the form. We do not intend to collect information that is not needed to make a determination of a borrower’s reasonable and affordable rehabilitation payment amount. However, to determine a borrower’s reasonable and affordable loan payment using the alternative methodology outlined in the final regulations, a loan holder must have information on both the borrower’s monthly income and the borrower’s reasonable and necessary monthly expenses. It is also necessary to collect such information for the borrower’s spouse, if the spouse contributes to the household income of the borrower. Under the Department’s regulations at 34 CFR 685.211(f)(3)(ii) and 682.405(b)(1)(vii)(B) the Department or a FFEL loan holder considers the borrower’s family size in determining whether the monthly expenses that a borrower reports are reasonable and necessary. Therefore, the Department’s form must collect information on family size. However, since marital status is E:\FR\FM\01APN1.SGM 01APN1 mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 2014 / Notices not needed to determine family size, we disagree with the recommendation that we collect marital status information on the form. We agree that the birth date of the borrower’s spouse does not need to be reported. We have revised the form to make it clear that the name and SSN of the borrower’s spouse are only needed if the borrower and the borrower’s spouse are applying for rehabilitation of a joint Consolidation Loan. We agree with the suggestion that it is not necessary to report taxable and untaxed income in separate sections of the form. Both types of income are counted when determining a borrower’s monthly income for purposes of calculating a reasonable and affordable payment amount. Consequently, we have grouped these two forms of income together in the same section to provide a clear picture of a borrower’s total monthly income. We disagree with the recommendation that the form should collect income information for individuals in the borrower’s household other than the borrower and the borrower’s spouse. Under the Department’s regulations for loan rehabilitation, monthly income is determined based only on the income of the borrower and his or her spouse. We also disagree with the recommendation that we require borrowers to provide employer information on the form. This information is not needed to determine a borrower’s monthly income or expenses. Changes: We have added a statement to the instructions for Section 2 indicating that spousal income information is only required if the spouse contributes to household income. We have also revised the form so that borrowers report taxable income and untaxed income in the same section. The form now has separate rows for each type of untaxed income (i.e., child support, Social Security benefits, etc.). As a result, the form no longer refers to ‘‘taxable’’ income or ‘‘untaxed’’ income. We have removed the request for the birth date of the borrower’s spouse and the ‘‘Spousal Identification’’ section that was on the proposed form. We have moved the questions asking for the name and SSN of the borrower’s spouse to Section 3, which also collects family size and Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) information. A spouse’s signature and other spousal information are only required if both borrowers are applying for rehabilitation of a joint Consolidation Loan. Comments: None. VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:02 Mar 31, 2014 Jkt 232001 Discussion: The version of the Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form that we included with the NPRM was intended to be used to determine the initial offer of a borrower’s monthly rehabilitation payment amount. The form required a borrower to report AGI because, under the regulations proposed in the NPRM, if the borrower rejected the initial offer of a monthly rehabilitation payment amount based on the borrower’s monthly income and expenses, a loan holder would need the borrower’s AGI to calculate a monthly rehabilitation payment amount using an alternative method. Under the alternative method, the monthly rehabilitation payment amount would equal 15 percent of the amount by which the borrower’s AGI exceeds 150 percent of the poverty guideline applicable to the borrower’s family size and State, divided by 12, with a minimum payment of not less than $5 (‘‘the 15 percent formula’’). Under the final regulations, the loan holder determines the initial offer of a monthly rehabilitation payment amount by using the 15 percent formula. If the borrower rejects that offer, the borrower completes the Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form, and the loan holder calculates an alternative monthly rehabilitation payment amount using the monthly income and expenses information reported on the form. AGI is not needed to calculate a monthly rehabilitation payment amount based on a borrower’s monthly income and expenses, although it is needed to determine a monthly rehabilitation payment amount using the 15 percent formula. A borrower who initially rejected the monthly rehabilitation repayment amount determined using the 15 percent formula may ultimately decide to accept that payment amount, after the loan holder has calculated a monthly payment amount based on the monthly income and expenses information provided on the form. In this circumstance, it might be useful for the borrower to provide AGI information on the form. However, we do not believe that borrowers who have explicitly rejected a payment amount determined based on their AGI should be required to provide AGI information on this form and, thus, we have made this question optional. Changes: We have retained the data element asking a borrower to provide AGI information, but have made it optional. PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 18289 Instructions and Definitions Comments: The commenter that submitted a proposed revised version of the Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form recommended adding definitions for ‘‘public assistance,’’ ‘‘taxable income,’’ and ‘‘untaxed’’ income to the Definitions section of the form. One commenter asked whether Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits should be reported under ‘‘Monthly Income.’’ Discussion: We agree that including a definition for ‘‘public assistance’’ will be helpful to borrowers in completing the form. Definitions for ‘‘taxable income’’ and ‘‘untaxed’’ income are not needed, since the final version of the form does not use those terms. The Department’s regulations at 34 CFR 685.211(f)(3)(i) and 682.405(b)(1)(vii)(A) specify that a borrower’s monthly income includes public assistance payments, welfare benefits, and Supplemental Security Income. SNAP payments qualify under the general category of public assistance payments and will be counted when determining a borrower’s monthly income. Changes: We have added a definition for ‘‘public assistance’’ to Section 6 of the form. Comments: None. Discussion: The final regulations introduced the term ‘‘15 percent formula’’ as the formula used to determine the initial offer of a reasonable and affordable repayment amount. We believe that explaining this term on the form will be helpful to borrowers. Changes: We have added a definition for the ‘‘15 percent formula’’ to Section 6 of the form. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Sections 685.211 and 682.405 of the Department’s final regulations published on November 1, 2013, contain information collection requirements. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3507(d)), the Department submitted the related Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for its review and approval. The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 does not require you to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. We display the valid OMB control number assigned to the collection of information in this notice and on the form itself. E:\FR\FM\01APN1.SGM 01APN1 18290 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 62 / Tuesday, April 1, 2014 / Notices Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments Form With the regulations published in the NPRM on July 29, 2013, the form was to be used for all defaulted borrowers who wished to establish a reasonable and affordable monthly rehabilitation repayment amount on a defaulted loan. The initial burden analysis, based on this proposal, resulted in 329,029 respondents requiring 1.5 hours each to complete the form for a total burden estimated at 588,044 hours. Sections 685.211(f)(5) and 682.405(b)(1)(vii) included in the Department’s final regulations published on November 1, 2013, revised the proposal. The final rule now requires only borrowers who object to the monthly rehabilitation payment amount determined using the 15 percent formula described in the final regulations to provide the guaranty agency or the Secretary the information needed to calculate a monthly rehabilitation payment amount by completing the Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form. Based on this change, we project that of the estimated 11,144 Direct Loan borrowers and 35,899 FFEL borrowers who object to the calculation using the 15 percent formula in the final regulations, 75 percent or 8,358 Direct Loan and 26,924 FFEL borrowers will complete and return the Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form to the Secretary or guaranty agency. As a result of the restructuring and streamlining of the form, we now anticipate that each borrower will need one hour to read the form and instructions, gather the pertinent documents and complete the form for submission. This will yield 35,282 hours of burden (8,358 + 26,924 = 35,282 × 1 hour = 35,282) under OMB Control Number 1845–0120. We believe this burden estimate is a realistic projection for this new process and form. The Department plans to monitor the use of the approved Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form and in future information collection submissions be able to provide actual versus projected numbers of submissions (as available), therefore refining future burden estimates. Consistent with the discussion above, the following chart describes the section of the regulations involving information collections, the information being collected and the collections that the Department has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for approval and public comment under the Paperwork Reduction Act, and the estimated costs associated with the information collection. The monetized net savings from the reduced burden on guaranty agencies and borrowers using wage data developed using BLS data, available at https://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/ sp/ecsuphst.pdf is $13,603,472 as shown in the chart below. This cost was based on an hourly rate of $24.61. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION Regulatory sections Information collection request OMB Control No. and estimated change in burden Estimated costs § 682.405(b) and § 685.211(f) ................. Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments. OMB 1845–0120 ..................................... The Department estimates that the burden will decrease by 552,762 hours. ¥$13,603,472 mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Loan rehabilitation agreement Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations is available via the Federal Digital System at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at this site. You may also access documents of the Department published in the Federal Register by using the article search feature at: www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published by the Department. VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:02 Mar 31, 2014 Jkt 232001 (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers: 84.032 Federal Family Education Loan Program; 84.268 William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program) You may access the OMB-approved version of the Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form at www.regulations.gov under the Docket Number ED–2013–OPE–0063. Dated: March 26, 2014. Brenda Dann-Messier, Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education. [FR Doc. 2014–07146 Filed 3–31–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. CP14–104–000] Texas Eastern Transmission, LP; Notice of Application Take notice that on March 11, 2014, Texas Eastern Transmission, LP (Texas Eastern), 5400 Westheimer Court, PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Houston, Texas 77056–5310, filed an application in the above referenced docket pursuant to section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) requesting authorization to construct and operate its U2GC Project to provide 425,000 dekatherms per day of pipeline capacity from Appalachian supply sources to an interconnection with the Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company, LP’s system near Gas City, Indiana. Texas Eastern states the U2GC Project involves minor modifications to existing facilities in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana to provide for bidirectional flow capabilities. Texas Eastern estimates the cost of the U2GC Project to be $56.5 million, all as more fully set forth in the application which is on file with the Commission and open to public inspection. The filing is available for review at the Commission in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the Commission’s Web site web at https://www.ferc.gov using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call E:\FR\FM\01APN1.SGM 01APN1

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[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 1, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18287-18290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07146]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket ID ED-2013-OPE-0063]


Agency Information Collection Activities: William D. Ford Federal 
Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program and Federal Family Education Loan 
(FFEL) Program Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable 
Rehabilitation Payments Form

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Secretary responds to public comments on, and announces 
approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of, the Financial 
Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form.

DATES: This information collection is effective July 1, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information related to the 
Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation 
Payments form, contact Brian Smith or Pamela Moran at (202) 502-7551 or 
(202) 502-7732 or by email at: Brian.Smith@ed.gov or 
Pamela.Moran@ed.gov.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-
800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Education (the 
Department), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and 
Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, 
and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department 
assess the impact of its information collection requirements so that we 
can minimize the reporting burden on the public. Providing an 
opportunity for comment also helps the public understand the 
Department's information collection requirements and how the requested 
data must be provided.
    On July 29, 2013, the Secretary published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPRM) (78 FR 45618) that solicited comments on proposed 
regulations and collections of information, including the proposed 
Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation 
Payments form (identified as 1845-NEW1 in the NPRM). The Secretary 
published final regulations based on the NPRM on November 1, 2013 (78 
FR 65768). This notice responds to comments on and announces OMB's 
approval of the form. The Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and 
Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form for the William D. Ford Federal 
Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program and the Federal Family Education Loan 
(FFEL) Program has been approved under OMB Control Number 1845-0120 
with an expiration date of March 31, 2017.
    In the NPRM, the Department estimated the burden to complete and 
submit the proposed version of the form. The Department received 
comments from the public on all aspects of the form and on its intended 
use. We addressed comments about the use of

[[Page 18288]]

the form in the final regulations published on November 1, 2013 (see 78 
FR 65768, 65776). In this notice, we address comments about the content 
of, and burden estimates associated with, the form.
    The OMB-approved version of the form contains several changes from 
the draft form that was discussed in the NPRM and made available in the 
public docket on www.regulations.gov as document ID ED-2013-OPE-0063-
0005. We explain the major changes in the Analysis of Comments and 
Changes section of the preamble that follows.

Analysis of Comments and Major Changes

    In response to the Secretary's invitation in the NPRM, 25 parties 
submitted comments on the proposed regulations. Of these commenters, 
nine provided comments on the content of the proposed Financial 
Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form. 
An analysis of the comments and of the major changes to the Financial 
Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form 
since publication of the NPRM and final regulations follows.
    We group major issues according to subject. Generally we do not 
address minor changes to improve clarity, or technical corrections, 
such as language that we have revised or added to the form to conform 
to the final regulatory language.

Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation 
Payments Form

Formatting and Layout

    Comments: Several commenters expressed concerns about the length 
and complexity of the proposed form. The commenters felt that the 
proposed form was unnecessarily long and inefficiently arranged. In 
particular, commenters requested that we present the questions 
requesting income and expenses information from the borrower in a more 
concise and manageable format.
    One commenter submitted a revised version of the form that 
consolidated several sections from the proposed form into one section 
and used a column format for reporting monthly income and expenses. The 
commenter's revised version of the form also included an 
``Instructions'' section with detailed information on how to complete 
the form and information describing the various ``Monthly Income'' and 
``Monthly Expenses'' categories. The commenter believed that its 
revised version of the form would be more borrower-friendly and would 
help to ensure borrower success in the rehabilitation process.
    Discussion: We agree that the commenter's revised version of the 
form is generally more clear and concise than the version of the form 
included with the NPRM. We agree that presenting all of the data 
elements relating to income and expenses in one section makes the form 
more borrower-friendly. We also believe that presenting these data 
elements in a column format provides more visual clarity to the form.
    In addition, we agree that a separate ``Instructions'' section is 
helpful to borrowers. An ``Instructions'' section serves as an easy 
reference for borrowers and provides more detail than can easily be 
included in the sections of the form that borrowers are required to 
complete. Including a separate ``Instructions'' section is also 
consistent with most of our other loan servicing forms.
    We also believe that the additional changes that we have made, 
discussed in the ``Changes'' section below, make the form easier to 
read and more manageable for borrowers.
    Changes: We have used the commenter's proposed revision as the 
basis for the final version of the form. We have also made the form 
more accessible to borrowers with visual impairments. We have increased 
the font size for most of the form to 11 point from 9 point and now 
include long sections of text in column format.
    We have also accepted the commenters' recommendation to streamline 
the form by consolidating the income and expenses information into one 
section (``Section 2: Household Income and Reasonable and Necessary 
Monthly Expenses''), and we have used a column format for the data 
elements that request borrower income and expenses information. In 
addition, we have eliminated the check boxes asking borrowers to 
indicate whether they are paid weekly or biweekly because a loan holder 
does not need to know how many times per month a borrower receives a 
paycheck to determine the borrower's monthly income.
    Finally, we have added an ``Instructions'' section to the form that 
provides general information on how to fill out the form and more 
detailed information about the specific data elements in Section 2.

Borrower Privacy Concerns

    Comments: Several commenters noted that the form requested highly 
sensitive financial information from the borrower. These commenters 
stated that this type of information should only be collected when 
fully justified by the necessity of its intended use.
    In addition to requesting information about the borrower, the 
proposed version of the form requested the name, Social Security Number 
(SSN), and birth date of the borrower's spouse. Commenters raised 
privacy concerns about collecting this information, arguing that 
requesting such information was intrusive and not necessary for the 
purpose of the form.
    One commenter recommended removing the birth date data element for 
the borrower's spouse but requiring the borrower to report marital 
status.
    One commenter noted that the proposed version of the form required 
borrowers to report taxable and untaxed income separately. The 
commenter stated that, unless the intent is to exclude untaxed income 
from the calculation of monthly income, there is no reason to report it 
separately from taxable income. The commenter asked that the Department 
clarify how different sources of income will be considered, if the 
Department retains the requirement that the two types of income be 
reported separately on the form.
    One commenter recommended that we require a borrower to provide 
monthly income information for individuals in the borrower's household 
other than the borrower and the borrower's spouse. This commenter also 
recommended that the form require the borrower to identify the 
borrower's current employer.
    Discussion: We share the commenters' concerns about protecting the 
privacy of borrowers completing the form. We do not intend to collect 
information that is not needed to make a determination of a borrower's 
reasonable and affordable rehabilitation payment amount. However, to 
determine a borrower's reasonable and affordable loan payment using the 
alternative methodology outlined in the final regulations, a loan 
holder must have information on both the borrower's monthly income and 
the borrower's reasonable and necessary monthly expenses. It is also 
necessary to collect such information for the borrower's spouse, if the 
spouse contributes to the household income of the borrower.
    Under the Department's regulations at 34 CFR 685.211(f)(3)(ii) and 
682.405(b)(1)(vii)(B) the Department or a FFEL loan holder considers 
the borrower's family size in determining whether the monthly expenses 
that a borrower reports are reasonable and necessary. Therefore, the 
Department's form must collect information on family size. However, 
since marital status is

[[Page 18289]]

not needed to determine family size, we disagree with the 
recommendation that we collect marital status information on the form.
    We agree that the birth date of the borrower's spouse does not need 
to be reported. We have revised the form to make it clear that the name 
and SSN of the borrower's spouse are only needed if the borrower and 
the borrower's spouse are applying for rehabilitation of a joint 
Consolidation Loan.
    We agree with the suggestion that it is not necessary to report 
taxable and untaxed income in separate sections of the form. Both types 
of income are counted when determining a borrower's monthly income for 
purposes of calculating a reasonable and affordable payment amount. 
Consequently, we have grouped these two forms of income together in the 
same section to provide a clear picture of a borrower's total monthly 
income.
    We disagree with the recommendation that the form should collect 
income information for individuals in the borrower's household other 
than the borrower and the borrower's spouse. Under the Department's 
regulations for loan rehabilitation, monthly income is determined based 
only on the income of the borrower and his or her spouse.
    We also disagree with the recommendation that we require borrowers 
to provide employer information on the form. This information is not 
needed to determine a borrower's monthly income or expenses.
    Changes: We have added a statement to the instructions for Section 
2 indicating that spousal income information is only required if the 
spouse contributes to household income. We have also revised the form 
so that borrowers report taxable income and untaxed income in the same 
section. The form now has separate rows for each type of untaxed income 
(i.e., child support, Social Security benefits, etc.). As a result, the 
form no longer refers to ``taxable'' income or ``untaxed'' income.
    We have removed the request for the birth date of the borrower's 
spouse and the ``Spousal Identification'' section that was on the 
proposed form. We have moved the questions asking for the name and SSN 
of the borrower's spouse to Section 3, which also collects family size 
and Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) information. A spouse's signature and 
other spousal information are only required if both borrowers are 
applying for rehabilitation of a joint Consolidation Loan.
    Comments: None.
    Discussion: The version of the Financial Disclosure for Reasonable 
and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form that we included with the 
NPRM was intended to be used to determine the initial offer of a 
borrower's monthly rehabilitation payment amount. The form required a 
borrower to report AGI because, under the regulations proposed in the 
NPRM, if the borrower rejected the initial offer of a monthly 
rehabilitation payment amount based on the borrower's monthly income 
and expenses, a loan holder would need the borrower's AGI to calculate 
a monthly rehabilitation payment amount using an alternative method. 
Under the alternative method, the monthly rehabilitation payment amount 
would equal 15 percent of the amount by which the borrower's AGI 
exceeds 150 percent of the poverty guideline applicable to the 
borrower's family size and State, divided by 12, with a minimum payment 
of not less than $5 (``the 15 percent formula'').
    Under the final regulations, the loan holder determines the initial 
offer of a monthly rehabilitation payment amount by using the 15 
percent formula. If the borrower rejects that offer, the borrower 
completes the Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable 
Rehabilitation Payments form, and the loan holder calculates an 
alternative monthly rehabilitation payment amount using the monthly 
income and expenses information reported on the form. AGI is not needed 
to calculate a monthly rehabilitation payment amount based on a 
borrower's monthly income and expenses, although it is needed to 
determine a monthly rehabilitation payment amount using the 15 percent 
formula.
    A borrower who initially rejected the monthly rehabilitation 
repayment amount determined using the 15 percent formula may ultimately 
decide to accept that payment amount, after the loan holder has 
calculated a monthly payment amount based on the monthly income and 
expenses information provided on the form. In this circumstance, it 
might be useful for the borrower to provide AGI information on the 
form. However, we do not believe that borrowers who have explicitly 
rejected a payment amount determined based on their AGI should be 
required to provide AGI information on this form and, thus, we have 
made this question optional.
    Changes: We have retained the data element asking a borrower to 
provide AGI information, but have made it optional.

Instructions and Definitions

    Comments: The commenter that submitted a proposed revised version 
of the Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable 
Rehabilitation Payments form recommended adding definitions for 
``public assistance,'' ``taxable income,'' and ``untaxed'' income to 
the Definitions section of the form.
    One commenter asked whether Supplemental Nutritional Assistance 
Program (SNAP) benefits should be reported under ``Monthly Income.''
    Discussion: We agree that including a definition for ``public 
assistance'' will be helpful to borrowers in completing the form. 
Definitions for ``taxable income'' and ``untaxed'' income are not 
needed, since the final version of the form does not use those terms.
    The Department's regulations at 34 CFR 685.211(f)(3)(i) and 
682.405(b)(1)(vii)(A) specify that a borrower's monthly income includes 
public assistance payments, welfare benefits, and Supplemental Security 
Income. SNAP payments qualify under the general category of public 
assistance payments and will be counted when determining a borrower's 
monthly income.
    Changes: We have added a definition for ``public assistance'' to 
Section 6 of the form.
    Comments: None.
    Discussion: The final regulations introduced the term ``15 percent 
formula'' as the formula used to determine the initial offer of a 
reasonable and affordable repayment amount. We believe that explaining 
this term on the form will be helpful to borrowers.
    Changes: We have added a definition for the ``15 percent formula'' 
to Section 6 of the form.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    Sections 685.211 and 682.405 of the Department's final regulations 
published on November 1, 2013, contain information collection 
requirements. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 
U.S.C. 3507(d)), the Department submitted the related Information 
Collection Request (ICR) to OMB for its review and approval.
    The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 does not require you to respond 
to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control 
number. We display the valid OMB control number assigned to the 
collection of information in this notice and on the form itself.

[[Page 18290]]

Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation 
Payments Form

    With the regulations published in the NPRM on July 29, 2013, the 
form was to be used for all defaulted borrowers who wished to establish 
a reasonable and affordable monthly rehabilitation repayment amount on 
a defaulted loan. The initial burden analysis, based on this proposal, 
resulted in 329,029 respondents requiring 1.5 hours each to complete 
the form for a total burden estimated at 588,044 hours.
    Sections 685.211(f)(5) and 682.405(b)(1)(vii) included in the 
Department's final regulations published on November 1, 2013, revised 
the proposal. The final rule now requires only borrowers who object to 
the monthly rehabilitation payment amount determined using the 15 
percent formula described in the final regulations to provide the 
guaranty agency or the Secretary the information needed to calculate a 
monthly rehabilitation payment amount by completing the Financial 
Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form.
    Based on this change, we project that of the estimated 11,144 
Direct Loan borrowers and 35,899 FFEL borrowers who object to the 
calculation using the 15 percent formula in the final regulations, 75 
percent or 8,358 Direct Loan and 26,924 FFEL borrowers will complete 
and return the Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable 
Rehabilitation Payments form to the Secretary or guaranty agency. As a 
result of the restructuring and streamlining of the form, we now 
anticipate that each borrower will need one hour to read the form and 
instructions, gather the pertinent documents and complete the form for 
submission. This will yield 35,282 hours of burden (8,358 + 26,924 = 
35,282 x 1 hour = 35,282) under OMB Control Number 1845-0120.
    We believe this burden estimate is a realistic projection for this 
new process and form. The Department plans to monitor the use of the 
approved Financial Disclosure for Reasonable and Affordable 
Rehabilitation Payments form and in future information collection 
submissions be able to provide actual versus projected numbers of 
submissions (as available), therefore refining future burden estimates.
    Consistent with the discussion above, the following chart describes 
the section of the regulations involving information collections, the 
information being collected and the collections that the Department has 
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for approval and 
public comment under the Paperwork Reduction Act, and the estimated 
costs associated with the information collection. The monetized net 
savings from the reduced burden on guaranty agencies and borrowers 
using wage data developed using BLS data, available at https://www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/sp/ecsuphst.pdf is $13,603,472 as shown in the 
chart below. This cost was based on an hourly rate of $24.61.

                                            Collection of Information
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Information collection        OMB Control No. and
          Regulatory sections                      request           estimated change in burden  Estimated costs
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sec.   682.405(b) and Sec.   685.211(f)  Financial Disclosure for    OMB 1845-0120.............    -$13,603,472
                                          Reasonable and Affordable  The Department estimates
                                          Rehabilitation Payments.    that the burden will
                                                                      decrease by 552,762 hours.
Loan rehabilitation agreement
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the program contact person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free 
Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the 
Code of Federal Regulations is available via the Federal Digital System 
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well 
as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF 
you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at this 
site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at: 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers: 84.032 Federal 
Family Education Loan Program; 84.268 William D. Ford Federal Direct 
Loan Program)

    You may access the OMB-approved version of the Financial Disclosure 
for Reasonable and Affordable Rehabilitation Payments form at 
www.regulations.gov under the Docket Number ED-2013-OPE-0063.

    Dated: March 26, 2014.
Brenda Dann-Messier,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2014-07146 Filed 3-31-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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