rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/the-prosper-act-and-the-federal-service-loan-forgiveness-program?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-the-prosper-act-and-the-federal-service-loan-forgiveness-program' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Utah Cultural Alliance https://actionnetwork.org/groups/utah-cultural-alliance https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/letters/photos/000/059/976/normal/Public_service_loan_forgiveness-01.png The US, and UT in particular, is at near zero unemployment rates, which means it's even harder to attract and retain quality employees at nonprofits. Enter the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program! Created in 2007, this program makes it easier for public sector employers to attract and retain skilled professionals by lowering the primary barrier keeping new graduates from pursuing public service careers – student loan debt. Today it has become caught in the crosshairs of larger discussions about higher education affordability that fails to take into consideration the important purpose of the program. Both the President’s FY 2018 budget and H.R. 4508, legislation known as the PROSPER Act (Foxx, R- NC), would eliminate PSLF as part of a plan to reform federal student lending. How PSLF works: The initiative allows borrowers who work in public sector and nonprofit jobs earn loan forgiveness on eligible federal loans after making ten years’ worth of on-time monthly loan payments and working in the public or non-profit sector during that time period. Here's why forgiveness of student loans for employees working in public sector and nonprofit jobs matters: PSLF encourages individuals to pursue careers as teachers, social workers, police officers, firefighters, prosecutors, nurses, nonprofit works, artists, scholars, and other needed professionals. PSLF serves an important purpose that benefits the public. Repeal of PSLF harms communities by denying them a tool that enables them to provide critical services to their residents. We encourage you to reach out to Utah's federal delegation and ask them to protect the Public Sector Loan Forgiveness initiative to help keep nonprofits as competitive employers, and reward employees who choose to better the community by working in the public or nonprofit sector. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/the-prosper-act-and-the-federal-service-loan-forgiveness-program