Borrower Defense to Loan Repayment Universal Form

Forms and Documents

Forms and supporting documents for this ICR

Document	Type	Status	Availability
Borrower Defense to Loan Repayment Universal Form	Form and Instruction	New	Available
OMB OIRA BD Application Memo 11.24.20.docx	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2020-11-24	Repair queued
ED response to comment ED-2020-SCC-0043-0012-A1.docx	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2020-10-29	Available
ED response to comment ED-2020-SCC-0043-0013-A1.docx	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2020-10-29	Available
ED response to Congressional Comments 2020 Final.docx	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2020-08-25	Available
ED response to Legal Aid Coalition Comments 2020 Final.docx	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2020-08-25	Available
1845-NEW 2020 BD Universal Form Supporting Statement 30D Final.docx	Supporting Statement A	Uploaded 2020-08-25	Repair queued

IC Document Collections

Information collection document groups

IC ID	Collection	Type	Status	Form
240135	Borrower Defense to Loan Repayment Universal Form	Form and Instruction	New

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 1845-0163	ICR Reference No: 202002-1845-003
Status: Active	Previous ICR Reference No:
Agency/Subagency: ED/FSA	Agency Tracking No: ED-2020-SCC-0043
Title: Borrower Defense to Loan Repayment Universal Form
Type of Information Collection: New collection (Request for a new OMB Control Number)	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved with change	Conclusion Date: 11/24/2020
	Date Received in OIRA: 08/28/2020
Terms of Clearance: OMB approves this form for a period of three years. As noted in the accompanying documentation, FSA will update the Borrower Defense Portal to incorporate the agreed upon changes, which will ensure consistency with the PDF form we are approving today.

table that charts list comparision

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	11/30/2023	36 Months From Approved
Responses	96,000	0	0
Time Burden (Hours)	48,000	0	0
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

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Abstract: The Department of Education (the Department) amends the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program regulations issued under the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), to implement changes made to the regulations in §685.206(e) - Borrower responsibilities and defenses. These final regulations are a result of negotiated rulemaking and will add a new requirement to the current regulations. These final regulations require the collection of this information from borrowers who believe they qualify for a borrower defense to repayment discharge, as permitted under Section 455(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. The regulations provide, among other things, for the Secretary to discharge a borrower’s Direct Loan based on the loan in question being disbursed after July 1, 2020. The Department is attaching a list of elements that we are proposing be included on a revised Application for Borrower Defense to Loan Repayment form (Universal Borrower Defense Application). This revised form will be based on the current Universal Borrower Defense Application, OMB control number 1845-0146, and will facilitate processing claims from all borrowers who believe that they have a valid borrower defense claim.

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Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 20 USC 1087e(h) Name of Law: Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	85 FR 12777	03/04/2020
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	85 FR 53350	08/28/2020
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

table that charts list of burden

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
Borrower Defense to Loan Repayment Universal Form	N/A	N/A

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ICR Summary of Burden

table that charts list of burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	96,000	0	0	96,000	0	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	48,000	0	0	48,000	0	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Increase Due to: Miscellaneous Actions

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: This request is for a new information collection. This reflects the requirements of the final regulations offered through program change. This proposed burden duplicates the current Universal Borrower Defense Application, OMB control number 1845-0146 which will be replaced by this application upon approval. The burden estimated for this information collection is 48,000 hours based on additional estimated .5 hours for 96,000 individual responses.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $1,000,000

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 08/28/2020

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