1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

I am writing to you today as a constituent and a dedicated public servant to express my deep alarm and frustration regarding the Department of Education’s continued failures in administering the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Specifically, I am calling your attention to the “weaponized incompetence” surrounding the PSLF Buyback process, which has left tens of thousands of frontline workers—teachers, nurses, first responders, and military members—trapped in a state of financial and professional limbo. As detailed in a recent report by Forbes (Adam Minsky, December 15, 2025, "Alarming Update On Student Loan Forgiveness Posted By The Education Department"), new data released by the Department reveals a staggering and growing backlog. As of late 2025, over 80,000 PSLF Buyback applications remain pending. This represents thousands of Americans who have already completed their 10 years of service and have the funds ready to "buy back" the remaining months of their commitment, yet they are being denied the forgiveness they have legally earned due to sheer administrative negligence. For many of us, this is not merely a "backlog"; it feels like a deliberate strategy of delay. The Department’s inability to process these requests has several devastating consequences: 1. Administrative Hostage-Taking: Borrowers who have fulfilled their end of the bargain are being forced to remain in public service roles they may otherwise wish to leave, or continue paying into a system that should have already discharged their debts. 2. The Forbearance Trap: With the recent collapse of the SAVE plan and the subsequent transition to other repayment structures, many borrowers were placed into a "general forbearance" that the Department has ruled does not count toward PSLF. The Buyback program was promised as the solution to this very problem, yet the Department is refusing to process the applications that would allow us to escape this trap. 3. Lack of Transparency: As noted in the Forbes report, the Department’s updates have been inconsistent and "alarming," offering no clear timeline or accountability for when these 80,000+ public servants will see their files moved. The Department of Education has had years to prepare its systems for these transitions. Instead, they have prioritized complex legal maneuvering and the rollout of new, unstable programs over the basic operational duty of processing forgiveness for those who have already crossed the finish line. This level of dysfunction is unacceptable and serves as a betrayal of the promise made to public servants by the U.S. government. I urge you to exercise your oversight authority to: • Demand an immediate audit of the PSLF Buyback processing system. • Require the Department of Education to provide a public, week-by-week timeline for clearing the current backlog of 80,210 applications. • Ensure that borrowers are not penalized with further interest accrual or "lost months" while the Department struggles to perform its basic duties. We have upheld our commitment to our communities for a decade. It is time for the Department of Education to uphold its commitment to us. Sincerely,