The Secretary amends the regulations related to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) to specify the Secretary’s authority to provide for the waiver of certain student loan debts.  In accordance with the Secretary’s authority to waive repayment of a loan provided under the HEA, these final regulations would describe how the Secretary would provide targeted debt relief for borrowers whose outstanding loan balance has been impacted by excessive interest accumulation.  These final regulations modify the Department’s existing debt collection regulations to provide greater specificity regarding a non-exhaustive list of situations in which the Secretary may exercise the discretion to waive all, or part of, any debts owed to the Department.  This regulation was included in the Student Debt Relief Rulemaking process.  This included a virtual public hearing on this topic on July 18, 2023, giving the public an opportunity to share their views on this regulation.  In addition, there were 3 negotiated rulemaking sessions on October 10-11, November 6-7, and December 11-12, 2023, which also provided an opportunity for virtual public comments from the public each day of the rulemaking.  Finally, there was a 30-day public comment period once the notice of proposed rulemaking published from April 17-May 17, 2024.