In other words, when Congress authorizes a loan forgiveness program, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Teacher Loan Forgiveness or the Total and Permanent Disability Discharge, the U.S. Secretary of Education has the authority to forgive student loans as authorized under the terms of these loan forgiveness programs.
The "parallel terms clause" in the Higher Education Act of 1965 at 20 USC 1087e(a)(1) (also, 20 USC 1087a(b)(2)) requires Direct Loan program loans to have the same terms and conditions as FFEL program loans.
To implement an interest waiver after the expiration of the CARES Act’s payment pause, the U.S. Secretary of Education must rely on the waiver authority in the HEROES Act of 2003 [20 USC
However, the IRS can forgive the tax debt of borrowers who are insolvent, where total debt exceeds total assets [26 USC 108(a)(1)(B) and (d)(3)]. The insolvency exclusion from income is limited to the amount of insolvency [26 USC 108(a)(3)]. Borrowers who are in an Income-Driven Repayment plan for two or more decades are likely to be insolvent, but there are no guarantees that the debt will be forgiven.