Q    Another question.  Last night, on “60 Minutes,” there was an exploration into this Kafkaesque situation that members of the military have been in.  After 10 years of paying their student loans under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, 9 out of 10 of them have had their forgiveness rejected when they’ve applied. 

An advocate who was in the piece said that the President has the power, under a 2003 law, to solve this problem for those members of the military.  Will he use that law?  And is there anything else this administration can do to help these people?

MS. PSAKI:  So, what you’re referring to, just for others, is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which is an important but largely unmet — hence, the reporting last night — promise to professionals who serve their communities and do hard work that is essential to our country’s success.  And fixing this program has been a priority for this administration from the first day. 

That’s why, in the coming weeks, the Department of Education plans to announce a major overhaul of the program that, through a series of executive actions, will restore the promise of the program to teachers, service members, nurses, firefighters, and others serving their communities and our country.  It will include an opportunity for public service and many not-for-profit professionals to get any prior payments made on the federal loans for their studies counted toward PSLF, regardless of the loan program in which the payments were made.

So, there’s going to be upcoming rulemaking — the Department of Education will have more — but this is something we want to reform and address and make better for the people who should benefit from it.

Go ahead.