These programs offer borrowers a means to have all or part of their student loan debt forgiven or repaid in return for work or service in specific fields or professions or for satisfying certain conditions relating to borrower debt and income. Throughout the years, various federal loan forgiveness and loan repayment programs have been created, and presently, over 50 such programs are authorized, approximately 30 of which were operational as of October 1, 2017. While the various programs operate somewhat differently, they are generally intended to support at least one of the following goals:
Provide a financial incentive to encourage individuals to enter public service or a particular profession, occupation, or occupational specialty. Provide a financial incentive to encourage individuals to remain employed in a high-need profession or occupation—often in certain locations. Distinction among Loan Forgiveness and Loan Repayment Programs

In employment-focused loan forgiveness and loan repayment programs, a borrower typically must work or serve in a certain function, profession, or geographic location for a specified period of time to qualify for benefits. At the end of the specified term, some or all of the individual's qualifying student loan debt is forgiven or repaid on his or her behalf. One of the most important distinctions among these types of programs is whether the availability of benefits is incorporated into the loan terms and conditions and is thus considered an entitlement to qualified borrowers or whether benefits are made available to qualified borrowers at the discretion of the entity administering the program and whether the benefits are subject to the availability of funds. For the purposes of this report, the former types of programs are referred to as loan forgiveness while the latter are referred to as loan repayment . Availability of Loan Forgiveness Following Income-Driven Repayment

Loan forgiveness following income-driven repayment provides debt relief to borrowers who repay their federal student loans as a proportion of their income for an extended period of time but who have not repaid their entire student loan debt. Several issues related to loan forgiveness and loan repayment policy might be examined. For instance, should multiple programs make available loan forgiveness or loan repayment benefits for borrowers who engage in similar types of activities? Does the structure of some loan forgiveness or loan repayment programs lead to a financial windfall for borrowers who engage in the same type of activity they otherwise would have even if debt relief were not available? Is sufficient information available to assess whether existing programs are effectively achieving their intended purposes? For each program, the following information, where available, is provided: 
statutory and regulatory citations, the federal administering agency and (where appropriate) the specific office within that agency, the program's purpose, types of loans eligible for forgiveness or repayment, qualifying service required of program participants, maximum amount of benefits program participants can receive, restrictions on eligibility for program benefits, requirements for program participants after receipt of all or part of a program's benefits, federal income tax treatment of benefits, budgetary classification of the program's spending, annual amounts appropriated in FY2013-FY2017, annual amount of loans discharged or repaid in FY2013-FY2017, annual number of program beneficiaries in FY2013-FY2017, and citations to relevant CRS reports and additional resources. These benefits are considered entitlements and are written into the terms and conditions of widely available federal student loans. Restrictions on eligibility: Loan repayment benefits may not be provided for the same service used to qualify for benefits under any federally supported loan forgiveness program, including under the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program, the NHSC Students to Service Loan Repayment Program, the NHSC State Loan Repayment Program, the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program (NURSE Corps), Stafford Loan Forgiveness for Teachers, the Civil Legal Assistance Attorney Student Loan Repayment Program, and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
Student loan forgiveness and loan repayment programs provide borrowers a means of having all or part of their student loan debt forgiven or repaid in exchange for work or service in specific fields or professions or following a prolonged period during which their student loan debt burden is high relative to their income. In both loan forgiveness and loan repayment programs, borrowers typically qualify for benefits by working or serving in certain capacities for a specified period or by satisfying other program requirements over an extended term. Upon qualifying for benefits, some or all of a borrower's student loan debt is forgiven or paid on his or her behalf.
A key distinction among these types of programs is whether the availability of benefits is incorporated into the loan terms and conditions and thus considered an entitlement to qualified borrowers, or whether benefits are made available to qualified borrowers at the discretion of the entity administering the program and subject to the availability of funds. For the purposes of this report, the former types of programs are referred to as loan forgiveness while the latter are referred to as loan repayment.
Loan forgiveness and loan repayment programs typically are intended to support one or more of the following goals:
Provide a financial incentive to encourage individuals to enter public service or a particular profession, occupation, or occupational specialty. Provide a financial incentive to encourage individuals to remain employed in a high-need profession or occupation—often in certain locations. Provide debt relief to borrowers who, after repaying their student loans as a proportion of their income for an extended period of time, have not completely repaid their entire student loan debt.
The number and availability of loan forgiveness and loan repayment programs have expanded considerably since the establishment of the first major federal loan forgiveness program by the National Defense Education Act of 1958. Currently, over 50 such programs are authorized at the federal level, approximately 30 of which were operational as of October 1, 2017.
While existing loan forgiveness and loan repayment programs may support similar broader goals, there is great variety across programs in their design and scope. Some programs are widely available to all borrowers who meet program eligibility criteria. However, many programs are narrowly focused on supporting specific public service or workforce needs and are available only to individuals serving in certain occupations or working in certain geographic regions, or individuals employed by certain federal agencies. In some programs, the availability of benefits is incorporated into the terms and conditions of borrowers' loans and is more certain, but in other programs, the availability of benefits is subject to discretionary funding and award criteria. Programs are also distinguished by types of loans that qualify for forgiveness or repayment, qualifying periods of service, the amount of debt that may be discharged, and the tax treatment of discharged indebtedness.
Congress may explore whether loan forgiveness and loan repayment programs are effectively achieving policy objectives. Several issues might be examined. For instance, should multiple loan forgiveness and loan repayment programs continue to exist to provide debt relief to borrowers who engage in similar types of activities? Does the structure of some programs lead to a financial windfall for borrowers who engage in the same type of activity they might otherwise have in the absence of program benefits? Are programs appropriately targeted? Is sufficient information available to assess whether existing programs are effectively achieving their intended purposes?