Sources & Citation Index

Every fact on this site traces to a primary source. This is the master index; individual pages cite the subset they use. Last verified: July 7, 2026.

The statute

• Congressional Research Service — Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) analysis of P.L. 119-21 — the payment formula brackets, $50 dependent deduction, $10 floor, interest waiver and principal match, 360-payment forgiveness, excepted consolidation loans, Tiered Standard terms, and loan limit provisions. Our single most-cited document.

Department of Education

• ED Fact Sheet — Simplifying Student Loan Repayment — the two-plan structure for new borrowers, transition timeline, worked example ($45,000 teacher: $150/month RAP payment, ~$40/month interest waived, $50 match).
• ED Press Release — Next Steps for SAVE Borrowers — SAVE termination following the March 10, 2026 court ruling, the 7.5 million enrollee figure, servicer notice window (July 1–August 15, 2026), and the 90-day decision clocks.

Servicer guidance

• Edfinancial (federal servicer) — RAP Information Center — operational RAP terms as communicated to borrowers: eligibility, enrollment requirements, benefits summary.

Application & launch reporting

• The College Investor — RAP applications open online — the IDR Plan Request pathway on StudentAid.gov, ~10-minute application with IRS data consent, no paper form at launch.
• The College Investor — 46,000 day-one applications — launch volume and early processing conditions.

Supporting data

• HHS — Poverty Guidelines — the 2026 guidelines ($15,960 first person + $5,680 each additional, 48 contiguous states) used in our IBR and SAVE comparison math and built into the calculator.

Our sourcing standards

Statute and CRS beat press releases; press releases beat news coverage; news coverage beats nothing. Where sources conflict, we follow the statute and flag the conflict. Claims we can't trace to a primary source — like the widely-repeated autopay interest reduction figure — are omitted entirely rather than repeated. Numbers in worked examples are computed from the statutory formula, and the calculator's assumptions are printed on its page. Errors: report them and we'll fix them.