Washington, DC - Today, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released "Agencies' Use of Student Loan Repayments During CY 2010" (the report) -- a report to Congress detailing the use of federal loan repayments to recruit and retain highly qualified personnel across the Federal Government.

The report, which is required by law, details each Federal agency's use of the student loan repayment program.

"My commitment to the President and Members of Congress is to encourage agencies to use student loan repayments strategically," said OPM Director John Berry. "In our current budget climate, agencies should be mindful that the use of discretionary tools such as student loan repayments must be evaluated for their costs and benefits."

In CY 2010, 36 Federal agencies provided 11,359 employees with a total of nearly $85.7 million in student loan repayment benefits. More than 68 percent of all student loan repayment benefits were provided by the DoD, Justice, or State.

The report comes just a month after OPM rolled out the final regulations on its Student Pathways Program, designed to recruit current students and recent graduates into a career in federal service.

"The student loan repayment program is an invaluable tool to recruit top talent into Federal service and keep highly skilled employees. It is essential that we have tools like the student loan repayment program to maintain a world class workforce to serve the American people." said Director Berry.

Section 5379 of title 5, United States Code, authorizes agencies to establish a program under which they may repay certain types of Federally-made, insured, or guaranteed student loans in order to recruit or retain highly qualified personnel.

To view the full report, please contact media@opm.gov.