Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB4144 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	118THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 4144
5	5	To streamline and improve the Federal student loan repayment system to
6	6	protect borrowers and taxpayers.
7	7	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
8	8	JUNE15, 2023
9	9	Mr. O
10	10	WENS(for himself, Mrs. MCCLAIN, and Ms. FOXX) introduced the fol-
11	11	lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the
12	12	Workforce
13	13	A BILL
14	14	To streamline and improve the Federal student loan
15	15	repayment system to protect borrowers and taxpayers.
16	16	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
17	17	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
18	18	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3
19	19	(a) S
20	20	HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4
21	21	‘‘Federal Assistance to Initiate Repayment Act’’ or the 5
22	22	‘‘FAIR Act’’. 6
23	23	(b) T
24	24	ABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7
25	25	this Act is as follows: 8
26	26	Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
27	27	Sec. 2. References.
28	28	Sec. 3. Return to repayment requirements.
29	29	Sec. 4. Repayment plans.
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33	33	Sec. 5. Income-driven repayment assistance plan.
34	34	Sec. 6. Deferment on loans made on or after July 1, 2024.
35	35	Sec. 7. Loan rehabilitation.
36	36	Sec. 8. Limitation on authority of Secretary to propose or issue regulations and
37	37	executive actions.
38	38	SEC. 2. REFERENCES.
39	39	1
40	40	Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 2
41	41	this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 3
42	42	of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi-4
43	43	sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 5
44	44	section or other provision of the Higher Education Act of 6
45	45	1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 7
46	46	SEC. 3. RETURN TO REPAYMENT REQUIREMENTS. 8
47	47	(a) B
48	48	ORROWERNOTIFICATION.— 9
49	49	(1) N
50	50	OTICE TO FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN BOR -10
51	51	ROWERS WHO RECEIVED TEMPORARY RELIEF .— 11
52	52	During the period beginning on the date of the en-12
53	53	actment of this Act and ending on August 31, 2023, 13
54	54	the Secretary of Education shall provide, through 2 14
55	55	or more methods of communication (including postal 15
56	56	mail, telephone, and electronic communication), a 16
57	57	total of not fewer than 12 notices to each borrower 17
58	58	of any loan made, insured, or guaranteed under title 18
59	59	IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 19
60	60	1070 et seq.) indicating— 20
61	61	(A) the date on which such borrower is re-21
62	62	quired to make monthly payments on such a 22
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66	66	loan pursuant to section 271 of the Fiscal Re-1
67	67	sponsibility Act (Public Law 118–5); 2
68	68	(B) indicating the borrower’s options for 3
69	69	repayment, including that such borrower may 4
70	70	be eligible to enroll, or may be automatically en-5
71	71	rolled, as applicable, in an income driven repay-6
72	72	ment assistance plan under section 494A of the 7
73	73	Higher Education Act of 1965 (as added by 8
74	74	section 5 of this Act), including a brief descrip-9
75	75	tion of the plan and its associated benefits; and 10
76	76	(C) the options available to such a bor-11
77	77	rower who is in default, including— 12
78	78	(i) the option to consolidate or reha-13
79	79	bilitate the loans under section 428F(a)(5) 14
80	80	(as amended by section 7 of this Act); and 15
81	81	(ii) a brief description of the benefits 16
82	82	and consequences of each option. 17
83	83	(2) A
84	84	DDITIONAL NOTIFICATION.— 18
85	85	(A) I
86	86	N GENERAL.—During the period de-19
87	87	scribed in paragraph (1), and in addition to the 20
88	88	notices required under such subsection, the Sec-21
89	89	retary of Education shall provide the informa-22
90	90	tion described in subparagraph (B) to each at- 23
91	91	risk borrower. 24
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95	95	(B) AT-RISK BORROWER OUTREACH .—In 1
96	96	carrying out subparagraph (A), the Secretary of 2
97	97	Education shall provide, in the manner de-3
98	98	scribed in paragraph (1), a total of not fewer 4
99	99	than 6 notices to each at-risk borrower indi-5
100	100	cating— 6
101	101	(i) the information described in sub-7
102	102	paragraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph 8
103	103	(1); and 9
104	104	(ii) information specific to such bor-10
105	105	rower detailing— 11
106	106	(I) why such borrower is receiv-12
107	107	ing the notice; and 13
108	108	(II) the steps such borrower may 14
109	109	take to avoid delinquency and default. 15
110	110	(3) R
111	111	ETURN TO REPAYMENT PORTAL .—Not 16
112	112	later than 30 days after the date of the enactment 17
113	113	of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall— 18
114	114	(A) publish, on a publicly accessible 19
115	115	website of the Department, an electronic re-20
116	116	source portal; and 21
117	117	(B) through the use of such portal— 22
118	118	(i) disclose, in an easily searchable 23
119	119	format, the date or dates upon which the 24
120	120	Secretary carried out the borrower notifi-25
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124	124	cations required under paragraphs (1) and 1
125	125	(2); 2
126	126	(ii) disclose copies of any final con-3
127	127	tract modifications (as such term is de-4
128	128	fined in section 2.101 of title 48, Code of 5
129	129	Federal Regulations) the Secretary pro-6
130	130	vided to Federal student loan servicers 7
131	131	under contract during the period beginning 8
132	132	March 1, 2020 and ending September 30, 9
133	133	2024, except that proprietary or confiden-10
134	134	tial information related to such contracts 11
135	135	or contract modifications, including source 12
136	136	selection information (as such term is de-13
137	137	fined in section 2.101 of title 48, Code of 14
138	138	Federal Regulations) and any information 15
139	139	treated as confidential by such a loan 16
140	140	servicer and obtained by the Secretary for 17
141	141	purposes of such a final contract modifica-18
142	142	tion, shall be deemed confidential and ex-19
143	143	empt from disclosure under this clause and 20
144	144	section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 21
145	145	relating to freedom of information; 22
146	146	(iii) provide template examples of the 23
147	147	language the Secretary used to carry out 24
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151	151	the borrower notifications required under 1
152	152	paragraphs (1) and (2); and 2
153	153	(iv) provide examples of social media 3
154	154	posts for public stakeholders who wish to 4
155	155	amplify the Secretary’s communications 5
156	156	and provide borrowers with accurate infor-6
157	157	mation. 7
158	158	(4) A
159	159	T-RISK BORROWER DEFINED .—In this 8
160	160	subsection, the term ‘‘at-risk borrower’’ means a 9
161	161	borrower of a loan described in paragraph (1) that 10
162	162	is held by the Secretary of Education who, with re-11
163	163	spect to any such loan— 12
164	164	(A) on or after March 1, 2020, was as-13
165	165	signed a new student loan servicer; 14
166	166	(B) on or after March 1, 2020, entered re-15
167	167	payment for the first time; 16
168	168	(C) on or after March 1, 2020, was in de-17
169	169	fault; 18
170	170	(D) during the 2-year period preceding 19
171	171	March 1, 2020, missed a payment or payments 20
172	172	for a period of not less than 60 days; 21
173	173	(E) submitted an application for one-time 22
174	174	student debt cancellation (as described by the 23
175	175	Department of Education in the Federal Reg-24
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179	179	ister on October 12, 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 61513 1
180	180	et seq.)); or 2
181	181	(F) received a refund from the Department 3
182	182	of Education for any payment made during the 4
183	183	period beginning on March 1, 2020, and ending 5
184	184	on August 31, 2023, that, pursuant to a waiver 6
185	185	or modification described by the Department of 7
186	186	Education in the Federal Register on October 8
187	187	12, 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 61513 et seq.), was not 9
188	188	required. 10
189	189	(b) F
190	190	EDERALPREEMPTION.—Section 456 (20 U.S.C. 11
191	191	1087f) is amended by adding at the end the following: 12
192	192	‘‘(c) F
193	193	EDERALPREEMPTION.— 13
194	194	‘‘(1) I
195	195	N GENERAL.—Covered activities shall not 14
196	196	be subject to any law or other requirement of any 15
197	197	State or political subdivision of a State with respect 16
198	198	to— 17
199	199	‘‘(A) disclosure requirements; 18
200	200	‘‘(B) requirements or restrictions on the 19
201	201	content, time, quantity, or frequency of commu-20
202	202	nications with borrowers, endorsers, or ref-21
203	203	erences with respect to such loans; or 22
204	204	‘‘(C) any other requirement relating to the 23
205	205	servicing or collection of a loan made under this 24
206	206	title. 25
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210	210	‘‘(2) COVERED ACTIVITIES DEFINED .—In this 1
211	211	subsection, the term ‘covered activities’ means any 2
212	212	of the following activities, as carried out by a quali-3
213	213	fied entity: 4
214	214	‘‘(A) Origination of a loan made under this 5
215	215	title. 6
216	216	‘‘(B) Servicing of a loan made under this 7
217	217	title. 8
218	218	‘‘(C) Collection of a loan made under this 9
219	219	title. 10
220	220	‘‘(D) Any other activity related to the ac-11
221	221	tivities described in subparagraphs (A) through 12
222	222	(C).’’. 13
223	223	(c) P
224	224	ROCUREMENT FLEXIBILITY.—Section 142 (20 14
225	225	U.S.C. 1018a) is amended— 15
226	226	(1) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection 16
227	227	(m); and 17
228	228	(2) by inserting after subsection (k) the fol-18
229	229	lowing: 19
230	230	‘‘(l) G
231	231	UIDANCE TOSTUDENTLOANSERVICERS.— 20
232	232	‘‘(1) I
233	233	N GENERAL.—In notifying a student loan 21
234	234	servicer of a final contract modification (as such 22
235	235	term is defined in section 2.101 of title 48, Code of 23
236	236	Federal Regulations) that instructs such loan 24
237	237	servicer to perform a function that is new or dif-25
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241	241	ferent from a function such servicer performs pursu-1
242	242	ant to an existing contract, the PBO shall, not later 2
243	243	than 30 days before such contract change takes ef-3
244	244	fect, provide such servicers with written guidance in 4
245	245	the form of— 5
246	246	‘‘(A) a change order (as such term is de-6
247	247	fined in section 2.101 of title 48, Code of Fed-7
248	248	eral Regulations); 8
249	249	‘‘(B) a dear colleague letter; or 9
250	250	‘‘(C) an electronic announcement. 10
251	251	‘‘(2) N
252	252	ON-BINDING DIRECTIVES .—A student 11
253	253	loan servicer that is notified of a final contract 12
254	254	modification described in paragraph (1) and receives 13
255	255	guidance in a form other than a form described in 14
256	256	paragraph (1) (including through emails or phone 15
257	257	calls) shall not be subject to such contract modifica-16
258	258	tion.’’. 17
259	259	(d) R
260	260	EQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ANNUALBO-18
261	261	NUSES OFPERFORMANCE-BASEDORGANIZATIONOFFI-19
262	262	CERS.—Section 141 (20 U.S.C. 1018) is amended— 20
263	263	(1) in subsection (c)(4)— 21
264	264	(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 22
265	265	‘‘and’’ at the end; 23
266	266	(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 24
267	267	period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 25
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271	271	(C) by adding at the end the following: 1
272	272	‘‘(C) that the Department has carried out 2
273	273	the borrower notifications required under sec-3
274	274	tion 3(a) of the FAIR Act.’’; 4
275	275	(2) by amending subsection (d)(5)(B) to read 5
276	276	as follows: 6
277	277	‘‘(B) B
278	278	ONUS.— 7
279	279	‘‘(i) I
280	280	N GENERAL.—In addition, sub-8
281	281	ject to clause (ii), the Chief Operating Of-9
282	282	ficer may receive a bonus in an amount 10
283	283	that does not exceed 50 percent of such 11
284	284	annual rate of basic pay, based upon the 12
285	285	Secretary’s evaluation of the Chief Oper-13
286	286	ating Officer’s performance in relation to 14
287	287	the goals set forth in the performance 15
288	288	agreement described in paragraph (4). 16
289	289	‘‘(ii) E
290	290	XCEPTION.—In the case of a 17
291	291	year in which the Department does not 18
292	292	carry out the activities required under sec-19
293	293	tion 3(a) of the FAIR Act or comply with 20
294	294	the requirements of sections 142(l) or 21
295	295	456(c), the Chief Operating Officer may 22
296	296	not receive a bonus described in clause 23
297	297	(i).’’; and 24
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301	301	(3) by amending subsection (e)(3)(B) to read as 1
302	302	follows: 2
303	303	‘‘(B) B
304	304	ONUS.— 3
305	305	‘‘(i) I
306	306	N GENERAL.—In addition, sub-4
307	307	ject to clause (ii), a senior manager may 5
308	308	receive a bonus in an amount such that the 6
309	309	manager’s total annual compensation does 7
310	310	not exceed 125 percent of the maximum 8
311	311	rate of basic pay for the Senior Executive 9
312	312	Service, including any applicable locality- 10
313	313	based comparability payment, based upon 11
314	314	the Chief Operating Officer’s evaluation of 12
315	315	the manager’s performance in relation to 13
316	316	the goals set forth in the performance 14
317	317	agreement described in paragraph (2). 15
318	318	‘‘(ii) E
319	319	XCEPTION.—In the case of a 16
320	320	year in which the Department does not 17
321	321	carry out the activities required under sec-18
322	322	tion 3(a) of the FAIR Act or comply with 19
323	323	the requirements of sections 142(l) or 20
324	324	456(c), the senior manager may not re-21
325	325	ceive a bonus described in clause (i).’’. 22
326	326	SEC. 4. REPAYMENT PLANS. 23
327	327	(a) D
328	328	IRECTLOANS.—Section 455(d) (20 U.S.C. 24
329	329	1087e(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 25
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333	333	‘‘(6) REPAYMENT PLANS FOR LOANS IN REPAY -1
334	334	MENT ON OR AFTER JULY 1 , 2023.— 2
335	335	‘‘(A) D
336	336	ESIGN AND SELECTION .—Notwith-3
337	337	standing paragraph (1), and subject to sub-4
338	338	paragraph (E), beginning on July 1, 2023, the 5
339	339	Secretary shall offer a borrower of a loan made 6
340	340	under this part two plans for repayment of such 7
341	341	loan, including principal and interest on the 8
342	342	loan. The borrower shall be entitled to accel-9
343	343	erate, without penalty, repayment on such 10
344	344	loans. The borrower may choose— 11
345	345	‘‘(i) a standard repayment plan with a 12
346	346	fixed monthly repayment amount paid over 13
347	347	a fixed period of time, not to exceed 10 14
348	348	years; or 15
349	349	‘‘(ii) an income-driven repayment as-16
350	350	sistance plan under section 494A. 17
351	351	‘‘(B) S
352	352	ELECTION BY SECRETARY .—If such 18
353	353	borrower does not select a repayment plan de-19
354	354	scribed in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 20
355	355	provide the borrower with the repayment plan 21
356	356	described in subparagraph (A)(i). 22
357	357	‘‘(C) C
358	358	HANGES IN SELECTION.— 23
359	359	‘‘(i) I
360	360	N GENERAL.—Subject to clause 24
361	361	(ii), a borrower may change the borrower’s 25
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365	365	selection of a repayment plan under sub-1
366	366	paragraph (A), or the Secretary’s selection 2
367	367	of a plan for the borrower under subpara-3
368	368	graph (B), as the case may be. Nothing in 4
369	369	this subsection shall prohibit the Secretary 5
370	370	from encouraging distressed borrowers 6
371	371	from enrolling in the income-driven repay-7
372	372	ment assistance plan under section 494A. 8
373	373	‘‘(ii) S
374	374	AME REPAYMENT PLAN RE -9
375	375	QUIRED.—All loans made under this part 10
376	376	on or after July 1, 2023, to a borrower 11
377	377	shall be repaid under the same repayment 12
378	378	plan under subparagraph (A), except that 13
379	379	the borrower may repay an excepted PLUS 14
380	380	loan or an excepted consolidation loan (as 15
381	381	such terms are defined in section 494A) 16
382	382	separately from other loans made under 17
383	383	this part to the borrower. 18
384	384	‘‘(D) R
385	385	EPAYMENT AFTER DEFAULT .—The 19
386	386	Secretary may require a borrower who has de-20
387	387	faulted on a loan made under this part to— 21
388	388	‘‘(i) pay all reasonable collection costs 22
389	389	associated with such loan; and 23
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393	393	‘‘(ii) repay the loan pursuant to the 1
394	394	income-driven repayment assistance plan 2
395	395	under section 494A. 3
396	396	‘‘(E) R
397	397	ULES FOR EXISTING BORROWERS .— 4
398	398	‘‘(i) E
399	399	XISTING BORROWERS IN STAND -5
400	400	ARD OR GRADUATED PLANS .—A borrower 6
401	401	who, as of the day before the date of en-7
402	402	actment of FAIR Act, was repaying a loan 8
403	403	made under this part pursuant to a plan 9
404	404	described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) 10
405	405	of paragraph (1) may— 11
406	406	‘‘(I) continue to repay such loan 12
407	407	pursuant to such plan; or 13
408	408	‘‘(II) choose to repay such loan 14
409	409	pursuant to a plan described in clause 15
410	410	(i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A). 16
411	411	‘‘(ii) O
412	412	THER EXISTING BORROWERS .— 17
413	413	With respect to a borrower who, as of the 18
414	414	day before the date of enactment of FAIR 19
415	415	Act, was repaying a loan made under this 20
416	416	part pursuant to a plan described in sub-21
417	417	paragraph (D) or (E) of paragraph (1), 22
418	418	the Secretary shall, pursuant to section 23
419	419	494A(b), enroll such borrower into the in-24
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423	423	come-driven repayment assistance plan 1
424	424	under section 494A. 2
425	425	‘‘(F) P
426	426	ROHIBITION.—Except as provided 3
427	427	in subparagraph (E), the Secretary may not— 4
428	428	‘‘(i) authorize a borrower of a loan 5
429	429	made under this part to repay such loan 6
430	430	pursuant to a repayment plan that is not 7
431	431	described in clause (i) or (ii) of subpara-8
432	432	graph (A); or 9
433	433	‘‘(ii) carry out or modify a repayment 10
434	434	plan that is not described in such clause (i) 11
435	435	or (ii).’’. 12
436	436	(b) FFEL L
437	437	OANS.—Section 428(b)(9) is amended— 13
438	438	(1) in subparagraph (A)— 14
439	439	(A) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 15
440	440	end; 16
441	441	(B) in clause (v), by striking the period at 17
442	442	the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 18
443	443	(C) by adding at the end the following: 19
444	444	‘‘(vi) for any borrower repaying, on or 20
445	445	after July 1, 2023, a loan made, insured, 21
446	446	or guaranteed under this part— 22
447	447	‘‘(I) in the case of a borrower 23
448	448	who, as of the day before the date of 24
449	449	enactment of FAIR Act, was repaying 25
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453	453	such loan pursuant to a plan de-1
454	454	scribed in clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv), 2
455	455	continuing to repay such loan pursu-3
456	456	ant to such plan; or 4
457	457	‘‘(II)(aa) an income-driven repay-5
458	458	ment assistance plan under section 6
459	459	494A; or 7
460	460	‘‘(bb) the standard repayment 8
461	461	plan described in clause (i).’’; 9
462	462	(2) by adding at the end the following: 10
463	463	‘‘(C) R
464	464	EPAYMENT PLANS FOR LOANS IN 11
465	465	REPAYMENT ON OR AFTER JULY 1 , 2023.— 12
466	466	‘‘(i) C
467	467	HANGES IN SELECTION .—In the 13
468	468	case of any borrower not described in sub-14
469	469	paragraph (A)(vi)(I), the borrower may 15
470	470	change the borrower’s selection of a repay-16
471	471	ment plan under subparagraph (A)(vi)(II). 17
472	472	Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit 18
473	473	the lender from encouraging distressed 19
474	474	borrowers from enrolling in the income- 20
475	475	driven repayment assistance plan under 21
476	476	section 494A. 22
477	477	‘‘(ii) T
478	478	REATMENT OF CERTAIN BOR -23
479	479	ROWERS.—With respect to a borrower who, 24
480	480	as of the day before the date of enactment 25
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482	482	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 17
483	483	•HR 4144 IH
484	484	of the FAIR Act was repaying a loan 1
485	485	made, insured, or guaranteed under this 2
486	486	part pursuant to a plan described in sub-3
487	487	paragraph (A)(v), the Secretary shall, pur-4
488	488	suant to section 494A(b), enroll such bor-5
489	489	rower into an income-driven repayment as-6
490	490	sistance plan under section 494A. 7
491	491	‘‘(iii) R
492	492	EPAYMENT AFTER DEFAULT .— 8
493	493	The Secretary may require a borrower who 9
494	494	has defaulted on a loan made, insured, or 10
495	495	guaranteed under this part to— 11
496	496	‘‘(I) pay all reasonable collection 12
497	497	costs associated with such loan; and 13
498	498	‘‘(II) repay the loan pursuant to 14
499	499	the income-driven repayment assist-15
500	500	ance plan under section 494A. 16
501	501	‘‘(iv) P
502	502	ROHIBITION.—The Secretary 17
503	503	may not— 18
504	504	‘‘(I) authorize a borrower of a 19
505	505	loan made, insured, or guaranteed 20
506	506	under this part to repay such loan 21
507	507	pursuant to a repayment plan that is 22
508	508	not described in subparagraph (A)(vi); 23
509	509	or 24
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512	512	•HR 4144 IH
513	513	‘‘(II) carry out or modify a re-1
514	514	payment plan that is not described in 2
515	515	subparagraph (A)(vi).’’. 3
516	516	(c) F
517	517	EDERALDIRECTCONSOLIDATIONLOANS.—Sec-4
518	518	tion 428C (20 U.S.C. 1078–3) is amended— 5
519	519	(1) in subsection (a)(3)(B)(i)(V)(aa), by strik-6
520	520	ing ‘‘or income-based repayment’’ and inserting ‘‘, 7
521	521	income-based repayment, or income-driven repay-8
522	522	ment assistance under section 494A’’; and 9
523	523	(2) in subsection (c)— 10
524	524	(A) in paragraph (2)(A)— 11
525	525	(i) in the first sentence, by inserting 12
526	526	‘‘, or a schedule for income-driven repay-13
527	527	ment assistance under section 494A,’’ after 14
528	528	‘‘schedules’’; and 15
529	529	(ii) in the second sentence, by insert-16
530	530	ing ‘‘or by the terms of repayment pursu-17
531	531	ant to income-driven repayment assistance 18
532	532	under section 494A,’’ after ‘‘subsection 19
533	533	(b)(5)’’; and 20
534	534	(B) in paragraph (3)— 21
535	535	(i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 22
536	536	‘‘or an income-driven repayment assistance 23
537	537	schedule under section 494A’’ after ‘‘sec-24
538	538	tion 493C’’; and 25
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541	541	•HR 4144 IH
542	542	(ii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 1
543	543	‘‘or an income-based repayment assistance 2
544	544	schedule under section 494A’’ after ‘‘sec-3
545	545	tion 493C’’. 4
546	546	(d) R
547	547	EPAYMENTINCENTIVES.— 5
548	548	(1) A
549	549	MENDMENT.—Section 455(b)(9)(C) (20 6
550	550	U.S.C. 1087e(b)(9)(C)) is amended by inserting 7
551	551	‘‘(which in the case of a loan for which the first dis-8
552	552	bursement of principal is made on or after July 1, 9
553	553	2023, may not exceed than 0.25 percentage points)’’ 10
554	554	after ‘‘interest rate reduction’’. 11
555	555	(2) A
556	556	PPLICATION OF AMENDMENT .—The 12
557	557	amendment made by this section shall not apply to 13
558	558	any borrower who is a student enrolled in a program 14
559	559	of study at an institution of higher education (as de-15
560	560	fined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 16
561	561	1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)) as of June 30, 2023, or any 17
562	562	loans made under part D of title IV of the Higher 18
563	563	Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) to 19
564	564	(or on behalf of) such student, during the period re-20
565	565	quired for the completion of such program. 21
566	566	(e) O
567	567	THERCONFORMINGAMENDMENTS.— 22
568	568	(1) D
569	569	EPARTMENTAL PUBLICATION OF DESCRIP -23
570	570	TIONS OF ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS .—The third sen-24
571	571	tence of section 485(d)(1) is amended— 25
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574	574	•HR 4144 IH
575	575	(A) by striking ‘‘income-sensitive and in-1
576	576	come-based repayment plans for loans made, in-2
577	577	sured or guaranteed under part B’’ and insert-3
578	578	ing ‘‘income-sensitive repayment plans and an 4
579	579	income-driven repayment plan under section 5
580	580	494A for loans made, insured or guaranteed 6
581	581	under part B’’; and 7
582	582	(B) by striking ‘‘and income-contingent’’ 8
583	583	and all that follows through ‘‘under part D’’ 9
584	584	and inserting ‘‘and an income-driven repayment 10
585	585	assistance plan under section 494A for loans 11
586	586	made under part D’’. 12
587	587	(2) PSLF.—Section 455(m)(1)(A) (20 U.S.C. 13
588	588	1087e(m)(1)(A)) is amended— 14
589	589	(A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause 15
590	590	(iii); 16
591	591	(B) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘and’’ and 17
592	592	inserting ‘‘or’’; and 18
593	593	(C) by inserting at the end the following: 19
594	594	‘‘(v) payments under an income-driven 20
595	595	repayment assistance plan under section 21
596	596	494A; and’’. 22
597	597	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4144.IH H4144
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599	599	•HR 4144 IH
600	600	SEC. 5. INCOME-DRIVEN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PLAN. 1
601	601	(a) E
602	602	STABLISHMENT OF NEWPLAN.—Part G of title 2
603	603	IV (20 U.S.C. 1088 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 3
604	604	end the following: 4
605	605	‘‘SEC. 494A. INCOME-DRIVEN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE 5
606	606	PROGRAM. 6
607	607	‘‘(a) I
608	608	NGENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro-7
609	609	vision of this Act, the Secretary shall carry out a program 8
610	610	under which— 9
611	611	‘‘(1) a borrower of any loan made, insured, or 10
612	612	guaranteed under part B or D (other than an ex-11
613	613	cepted PLUS loan or excepted consolidation loan), 12
614	614	may elect to have the borrower’s aggregate monthly 13
615	615	payment for all such loans not exceed the applicable 14
616	616	monthly payment for the borrower, except that a 15
617	617	borrower may not be precluded from repaying an 16
618	618	amount that exceeds such applicable monthly pay-17
619	619	ment for any month; 18
620	620	‘‘(2) the Secretary shall apply the borrower’s 19
621	621	monthly payment under this section first toward in-20
622	622	terest due on such a loan, next toward any fees due 21
623	623	on the loan, and then toward the principal of the 22
624	624	loan; 23
625	625	‘‘(3) any principal due and not paid under 24
626	626	paragraph (2) shall be deferred; 25
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629	629	•HR 4144 IH
630	630	‘‘(4) the amount of time the borrower makes 1
631	631	monthly payments under paragraph (1) may exceed 2
632	632	10 years; 3
633	633	‘‘(5) the Secretary provides the repayment as-4
634	634	sistance for distressed borrowers described in sub-5
635	635	section (c); 6
636	636	‘‘(6) the Secretary shall repay or cancel any 7
637	637	outstanding balance of principal and interest due on 8
638	638	all loans made under part B or D (other than ex-9
639	639	cepted PLUS loans or excepted consolidation loans) 10
640	640	to a borrower— 11
641	641	‘‘(A) who, at any time, elected to partici-12
642	642	pate in income-driven repayment assistance 13
643	643	under paragraph (1); 14
644	644	‘‘(B) whose final monthly payment for 15
645	645	such loans prior to the loan cancellation under 16
646	646	this paragraph was made under such income- 17
647	647	driven repayment assistance; and 18
648	648	‘‘(C) who has repaid on such loans (pursu-19
649	649	ant to income-driven repayment assistance 20
650	650	under paragraph (1), a standard repayment 21
651	651	plan under section 428(b)(9)(A)(i) or 22
652	652	455(d)(6)(A)(i), or a combination of any such 23
653	653	plan or any of the repayment plans listed in 24
654	654	clauses (i) through (iv) of section 25
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657	657	•HR 4144 IH
658	658	493C(b)(7)(B), or in the case of a consolidation 1
659	659	loan, pursuant to a repayment schedule de-2
660	660	scribed clause (i)(II) of this subparagraph) an 3
661	661	amount that is equal to— 4
662	662	‘‘(i)(I) the total amount of principal 5
663	663	and interest that the borrower would have 6
664	664	repaid under a standard repayment plan 7
665	665	under section 428(b)(9)(A)(i), or para-8
666	666	graph (1)(A) or (6)(A)(i) of section 9
667	667	455(d), based on a 10-year repayment pe-10
668	668	riod, when the borrower entered repayment 11
669	669	on such loans; or 12
670	670	‘‘(II) in the case of a Federal Direct 13
671	671	Consolidation Loan or loans made under 14
672	672	section 428C, the total amount of principal 15
673	673	and interest that the borrower would have 16
674	674	repaid under the repayment schedule es-17
675	675	tablished for the loan under section 18
676	676	428C(c)(2) on the date on which such loan 19
677	677	was made; plus 20
678	678	‘‘(ii) an amount equal to the amount 21
679	679	of any unpaid interest that has accrued, 22
680	680	but was not included in the calculation of 23
681	681	the total amount of principal and interest 24
682	682	that would have been repaid under the 25
683	683	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4144.IH H4144
684	684	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 24
685	685	•HR 4144 IH
686	686	standard repayment plan or schedule de-1
687	687	scribed in clause (i)— 2
688	688	‘‘(I) during any deferment period 3
689	689	described in clause (i) or (ii) of sec-4
690	690	tion 455(f)(2)(A) or during any period 5
691	691	of deferment under subparagraph (A) 6
692	692	or (B) of section 460A(b)(1); and 7
693	693	‘‘(II) during any forbearance pe-8
694	694	riod while serving in a medical or den-9
695	695	tal internship or residency program as 10
696	696	described in section 428(c)(3)(A)(i)(I) 11
697	697	or subparagraph (F) of section 12
698	698	460A(b)(1); 13
699	699	‘‘(7) in repaying under paragraph (6) the out-14
700	700	standing balance of principal and interest due on a 15
701	701	loan made under part B to a borrower who meets 16
702	702	the requirements of paragraph (6), the Secretary 17
703	703	shall— 18
704	704	‘‘(A) enter into an agreement with the 19
705	705	holder of such loan (or, if the holder acts as an 20
706	706	eligible lender trustee for the beneficial owner 21
707	707	of the loan, the beneficial owner of the loan) for 22
708	708	the purpose of assuming the repayment obliga-23
709	709	tions of the borrower in accordance with sub-24
710	710	paragraph (B), except that the Secretary shall 25
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712	712	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 25
713	713	•HR 4144 IH
714	714	not assign to the United States the right to 1
715	715	such loan; 2
716	716	‘‘(B) assume the obligation of the borrower 3
717	717	to repay the holder of such loan (or, if the hold-4
718	718	er acts as an eligible lender trustee for the ben-5
719	719	eficial owner of the loan, the beneficial owner of 6
720	720	the loan) the total amount of principal and in-7
721	721	terest remaining to be repaid on such loan 8
722	722	(after taking into account the amounts repaid 9
723	723	by the borrower pursuant to paragraph (6) and 10
724	724	the Secretary under subsection (c), if applica-11
725	725	ble) according to the terms and conditions, in-12
726	726	cluding the repayment schedule, that were in ef-13
727	727	fect with respect to such loan on the day before 14
728	728	the Secretary assumes such obligation; and 15
729	729	‘‘(C) ensure that the holder of such loan 16
730	730	(or, if the holder acts as an eligible lender 17
731	731	trustee for the beneficial owner of the loan, the 18
732	732	beneficial owner of the loan) shall, upon enter-19
733	733	ing into an agreement described in subpara-20
734	734	graph (A) with respect to a loan of a borrower, 21
735	735	reports to consumer reporting agencies that the 22
736	736	borrower’s liability on such loan has been dis-23
737	737	charged; 24
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740	740	•HR 4144 IH
741	741	‘‘(8) a borrower who is repaying a loan pursu-1
742	742	ant to income-driven repayment under paragraph (1) 2
743	743	may elect, at any time, to terminate repayment pur-3
744	744	suant to such income-driven repayment assistance 4
745	745	and repay such loan under the standard repayment 5
746	746	plan under section 455(d)(6)(A)(i); 6
747	747	‘‘(9) in the case of a borrower who, as of the 7
748	748	date before the date of enactment of the FAIR Act, 8
749	749	was repaying any loan made, insured, or guaranteed 9
750	750	under part B or D (other than an excepted PLUS 10
751	751	loan or excepted consolidation loan) pursuant to an 11
752	752	income-based repayment plan described in section 12
753	753	493C or an income-contingent repayment plan de-13
754	754	scribed in section 455(d)(1)(D), which has a term or 14
755	755	condition (including a term or condition related to 15
756	756	loan forgiveness or cancellation, required monthly 16
757	757	payments, or interest subsidies) that is more favor-17
758	758	able for such borrower than a similar term or condi-18
759	759	tion under the income-driven repayment assistance 19
760	760	plan under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall apply 20
761	761	the more favorable term or condition to the income- 21
762	762	driven repayment assistance plan under paragraph 22
763	763	(1) pursuant to which the borrower is repaying such 23
764	764	loan, in lieu of the similar, less favorable term or 24
765	765	condition; and 25
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768	768	•HR 4144 IH
769	769	‘‘(10) the special allowance payment to a lender 1
770	770	calculated under section 438, when calculated for a 2
771	771	loan in repayment under this section, shall be cal-3
772	772	culated on the principal balance of the loan and on 4
773	773	any accrued interest unpaid by the borrower in ac-5
774	774	cordance with this section. 6
775	775	‘‘(b) E
776	776	LIGIBILITYDETERMINATIONS AND NOTIFICA-7
777	777	TIONREQUIREMENT.—The Secretary shall establish and 8
778	778	implement with respect to any borrower who is (or will 9
779	779	be) repaying a loan pursuant to income-driven repayment 10
780	780	assistance under this section, procedures to— 11
781	781	‘‘(1) enroll into such income-driven repayment 12
782	782	assistance plan, any borrower who, as of the date be-13
783	783	fore the date of enactment of the FAIR Act, was re-14
784	784	paying a loan pursuant to an income-based repay-15
785	785	ment plan described in section 493C or an income- 16
786	786	contingent repayment plan described in section 17
787	787	455(d)(1)(D), without further action from the bor-18
788	788	rower, other than any action related to compliance 19
789	789	with the recertification requirements applicable to 20
790	790	the borrower under section 494(a)(4)(B); 21
791	791	‘‘(2) notify the borrower of the terms and con-22
792	792	ditions of such plan; 23
793	793	‘‘(3) use return information disclosed under sec-24
794	794	tion 6103(l)(13) of the Internal Revenue Code of 25
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797	797	•HR 4144 IH
798	798	1986, pursuant to approval provided under section 1
799	799	494, to determine the repayment obligation of the 2
800	800	borrower without further action by the borrower; 3
801	801	‘‘(4) allow the borrower (or the spouse of the 4
802	802	borrower), at any time, to opt out of disclosure 5
803	803	under such section 6103(l)(13) and instead provide 6
804	804	such information as the Secretary may require to de-7
805	805	termine the repayment obligation of the borrower (or 8
806	806	withdraw from the repayment plan under this sec-9
807	807	tion); and 10
808	808	‘‘(5) provide the borrower with an opportunity 11
809	809	to update the return information so disclosed before 12
810	810	the determination of the repayment obligation of the 13
811	811	borrower. 14
812	812	‘‘(c) R
813	813	EPAYMENT ASSISTANCE FOR DISTRESSED 15
814	814	B
815	815	ORROWERS.— 16
816	816	‘‘(1) E
817	817	XCESSIVE INTEREST.—For each month 17
818	818	for which a borrower’s aggregate monthly payment 18
819	819	under this section is insufficient to pay the total 19
820	820	amount of interest that accrues on a loan for the 20
821	821	month, the amount of interest accrued and not paid 21
822	822	for the month shall be subtracted from the total 22
823	823	amount of interest due on such loan for the month. 23
824	824	‘‘(2) R
825	825	EPAYMENT CREDIT .—For each month 24
826	826	for which a borrower’s aggregate monthly payment 25
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829	829	•HR 4144 IH
830	830	under this section repays an amount due on an indi-1
831	831	vidual loan that is less than twice the total amount 2
832	832	of interest that accrues on such loan for the month, 3
833	833	the amount of the total principal due on such loan 4
834	834	shall be reduced by an amount equal to half of the 5
835	835	monthly payment under this section on such loan for 6
836	836	the month. 7
837	837	‘‘(3) A
838	838	PPLICATION TO BORROWERS WITH CER -8
839	839	TAIN ADJUSTED GROSS INCOMES .—With respect to 9
840	840	any borrower whose adjusted gross income exceeds 10
841	841	300 percent of the poverty line applicable to the bor-11
842	842	rower’s family size as determined under section 12
843	843	673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act 13
844	844	(42 U.S.C. 9902(2)), paragraph (1) or (2) may only 14
845	845	apply to such borrower for any month in which the 15
846	846	borrower’s aggregate monthly payment under this 16
847	847	section is equal to or greater than the amount ob-17
848	848	tained by applying subsection (e)(2) by substituting 18
849	849	‘15 percent’ for ‘10 percent’ with respect to such 19
850	850	borrower. 20
851	851	‘‘(d) P
852	852	ROHIBITION.—In carrying out the require-21
853	853	ments of subsection (a)(7), the Secretary may not— 22
854	854	‘‘(1) revoke the rights to a special allowance 23
855	855	under section 438 of the holder (or, if the holder 24
856	856	acts as an eligible lender trustee for the beneficial 25
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859	859	•HR 4144 IH
860	860	owner of the loan, the beneficial owner of the loan) 1
861	861	of the loans being repaid by the Secretary under 2
862	862	subsection (a)(7); 3
863	863	‘‘(2) prepay any such loan ahead of the loan’s 4
864	864	repayment schedule referenced in subsection 5
865	865	(a)(7)(B); or 6
866	866	‘‘(3) use any authority or take any actions be-7
867	867	yond what is authorized explicitly in subsection 8
868	868	(a)(7). 9
869	869	‘‘(e) D
870	870	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 10
871	871	‘‘(1) A
872	872	DJUSTED GROSS INCOME .—The term ‘ad-11
873	873	justed gross income’ has the meaning given the term 12
874	874	in section 62 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 13
875	875	‘‘(2) A
876	876	PPLICABLE MONTHLY PAYMENT .—The 14
877	877	term ‘applicable monthly payment’ means, when 15
878	878	used with respect to a borrower, the amount ob-16
879	879	tained by dividing by 12, 10 percent of the result ob-17
880	880	tained by calculating, on at least an annual basis, 18
881	881	the amount by which— 19
882	882	‘‘(A) the adjusted gross income of the bor-20
883	883	rower or, if the borrower is married and files a 21
884	884	Federal income tax return jointly with or sepa-22
885	885	rately from the borrower’s spouse, the adjusted 23
886	886	gross income of the borrower and the bor-24
887	887	rower’s spouse; exceeds 25
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890	890	•HR 4144 IH
891	891	‘‘(B) 150 percent of the poverty line appli-1
892	892	cable to the borrower’s family size as deter-2
893	893	mined under section 673(2) of the Community 3
894	894	Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)). 4
895	895	‘‘(3) E
896	896	XCEPTED CONSOLIDATION LOAN .—The 5
897	897	term ‘excepted Consolidation Loan’ means a Federal 6
898	898	Direct Consolidation Loan, if the proceeds of such 7
899	899	loan were used to the discharge the liability on— 8
900	900	‘‘(A) an excepted PLUS loan; or 9
901	901	‘‘(B) a Federal Direct Consolidation loan, 10
902	902	if the proceeds of such loan were used to dis-11
903	903	charge the liability on an excepted PLUS loan. 12
904	904	‘‘(4) E
905	905	XCEPTED PLUS LOAN .—The term ‘ex-13
906	906	cepted PLUS Loan’ has the meaning given the term 14
907	907	in section 493C.’’. 15
908	908	(b) P
909	909	ROCEDURE ANDREQUIREMENTS FOR REQUEST-16
910	910	INGTAXRETURNINFORMATIONFROM THEIRS.—Sec-17
911	911	tion 494(a) (20 U.S.C. 1098h(a)) is amended by adding 18
912	912	at the end the following: 19
913	913	‘‘(4) I
914	914	NCOME-DRIVEN REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE 20
915	915	FOR LOANS IN REPAYMENT ON OR AFTER JULY 1 , 21
916	916	2023.— 22
917	917	‘‘(A) N
918	918	EW APPLICANTS.—In the case of 23
919	919	any written or electronic application by an indi-24
920	920	vidual for an income-driven repayment plan 25
921	921	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4144.IH H4144
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923	923	•HR 4144 IH
924	924	under section 494A for a loan made under part 1
925	925	B or D, the Secretary, with respect to such in-2
926	926	dividual and any spouse of such individual, 3
927	927	shall— 4
928	928	‘‘(i) provide to such individuals the 5
929	929	notification described in paragraph 6
930	930	(1)(A)(i); and 7
931	931	‘‘(ii) require, as a condition of eligi-8
932	932	bility for such repayment plan, that such 9
933	933	individuals— 10
934	934	‘‘(I) affirmatively approve the 11
935	935	disclosures described in subclauses (I) 12
936	936	and (II) of paragraph (1)(A)(i), to the 13
937	937	extent applicable, and agree that such 14
938	938	approval shall serve as an ongoing ap-15
939	939	proval of such disclosures until the 16
940	940	date on which the individual elects to 17
941	941	opt out of such disclosures under sec-18
942	942	tion 494A(b)(3); or 19
943	943	‘‘(II) provide such information as 20
944	944	the Secretary may require to confirm 21
945	945	the eligibility of such individual for 22
946	946	such repayment plan. 23
947	947	‘‘(B) R
948	948	ECERTIFICATIONS.—In the case of 24
949	949	an individual whom the Secretary enrolls, pur-25
950	950	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4144.IH H4144
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952	952	•HR 4144 IH
953	953	suant to section 494A(b)(1), in an income-driv-1
954	954	en repayment assistance plan under section 2
955	955	494A, the Secretary shall meet the require-3
956	956	ments of clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph 4
957	957	(A), with respect to such individual and any 5
958	958	spouse of such individual, for the first written 6
959	959	or electronic recertification of such individual’s 7
960	960	income or family size for purposes of such in-8
961	961	come-driven repayment assistance plan.’’. 9
962	962	SEC. 6. DEFERMENT ON LOANS MADE ON OR AFTER JULY 10
963	963	1, 2024. 11
964	964	(a) I
965	965	NGENERAL.—Part D of title IV (20 U.S.C. 12
966	966	1087e et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-13
967	967	lowing: 14
968	968	‘‘SEC. 460A. DEFERMENT ON LOANS MADE ON OR AFTER 15
969	969	JULY 1, 2024. 16
970	970	‘‘(a) E
971	971	FFECT ONPRINCIPAL ANDINTEREST.— 17
972	972	‘‘(1) I
973	973	N GENERAL.— 18
974	974	‘‘(A) R
975	975	EQUIREMENTS FOR BORROWERS .— 19
976	976	Subject to subparagraph (B), a borrower of a 20
977	977	loan made under this part on or after July 1, 21
978	978	2024— 22
979	979	‘‘(i) who meets the requirements de-23
980	980	scribed in subsection (b) shall be eligible 24
981	981	for a deferment on such loan during which 25
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984	984	•HR 4144 IH
985	985	installments of principal need not be paid 1
986	986	and, as specified in paragraph (2), interest 2
987	987	shall not accrue, or shall accrue and be 3
988	988	paid by the borrower; and 4
989	989	‘‘(ii) may not be eligible for a 5
990	990	deferment or forbearance under section 6
991	991	455(f) or any other provision of this Act 7
992	992	(other than a forbearance under section 8
993	993	455(l), a forbearance under section 9
994	994	685.205(a) of title 34, Code of Federal 10
995	995	Regulations (or successor regulations), or a 11
996	996	deferment under section 493D). 12
997	997	‘‘(B) E
998	998	XCEPTIONS FOR BORROWERS EN -13
999	999	ROLLED IN CERTAIN PROGRAMS OF STUDY .— 14
1000	1000	Any borrower who is student who is enrolled in 15
1001	1001	a program of study at an institution of higher 16
1002	1002	education as of June 30, 2024, or any loans 17
1003	1003	made to (or on behalf of) such borrower, during 18
1004	1004	the period required for the completion of such 19
1005	1005	program) shall not be subject to this section 20
1006	1006	‘‘(2) E
1007	1007	FFECT ON INTEREST.— 21
1008	1008	‘‘(A) N
1009	1009	O ACCRUAL OF INTEREST ON SUB -22
1010	1010	SIDIZED LOANS.—With respect to a deferment 23
1011	1011	period described in subparagraphs (A) through 24
1012	1012	(D) of subsection (b)(1), or (b)(6) interest— 25
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1015	1015	•HR 4144 IH
1016	1016	‘‘(i) shall not accrue, in the case of 1
1017	1017	a— 2
1018	1018	‘‘(I) Federal Direct Stafford 3
1019	1019	Loan; or 4
1020	1020	‘‘(II) a Federal Direct Consolida-5
1021	1021	tion Loan that consolidated only Fed-6
1022	1022	eral Direct Stafford Loans, or a com-7
1023	1023	bination of such loans and Federal 8
1024	1024	Stafford Loans for which the student 9
1025	1025	borrower received an interest subsidy 10
1026	1026	under section 428; or 11
1027	1027	‘‘(ii) shall accrue or be paid by the 12
1028	1028	borrower, in the case of a Federal Direct 13
1029	1029	PLUS Loan, a Federal Direct Unsub-14
1030	1030	sidized Stafford Loan, or a Federal Direct 15
1031	1031	Consolidation Loan not described in clause 16
1032	1032	(i)(II). 17
1033	1033	‘‘(B) I
1034	1034	NTEREST ACCRUAL ON ALL 18
1035	1035	LOANS.—With respect to a deferment period de-19
1036	1036	scribed in subparagraph (E) or (F) of sub-20
1037	1037	section (b)(1), or paragraph (2), (3)(A), or (4), 21
1038	1038	interest shall accrue or be paid by the borrower, 22
1039	1039	in the case of any loan made under this part. 23
1040	1040	‘‘(C) N
1041	1041	O ACCRUAL OF INTEREST ON ANY 24
1042	1042	LOAN.—With respect to a deferment period de-25
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1045	1045	•HR 4144 IH
1046	1046	scribed in paragraph (3)(B) or paragraph (5), 1
1047	1047	interest shall not accrue, in the case of any loan 2
1048	1048	made under this part. 3
1049	1049	‘‘(b) E
1050	1050	LIGIBILITY.—Any borrower described in sub-4
1051	1051	section (a) shall be eligible for a deferment on a loan made 5
1052	1052	under this part on or after July 1, 2024— 6
1053	1053	‘‘(1) during any period during which the bor-7
1054	1054	rower— 8
1055	1055	‘‘(A) is carrying at least one-half the nor-9
1056	1056	mal full-time work load for the course of study 10
1057	1057	that the borrower is pursuing, as determined by 11
1058	1058	the eligible institution the borrower is attend-12
1059	1059	ing; 13
1060	1060	‘‘(B) is pursuing a course of study pursu-14
1061	1061	ant to— 15
1062	1062	‘‘(i) an eligible graduate fellowship 16
1063	1063	program in accordance with subsection (g); 17
1064	1064	or 18
1065	1065	‘‘(ii) an eligible rehabilitation training 19
1066	1066	program for individuals with disabilities in 20
1067	1067	accordance with subsection (i); 21
1068	1068	‘‘(C) is serving on active duty during a war 22
1069	1069	or other military operation or national emer-23
1070	1070	gency, and for the 180-day period following the 24
1071	1071	demobilization date for such service; 25
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1074	1074	•HR 4144 IH
1075	1075	‘‘(D) is performing qualifying National 1
1076	1076	Guard duty during a war or other military op-2
1077	1077	eration or national emergency, and for the 180- 3
1078	1078	day period following the demobilization date for 4
1079	1079	such service; 5
1080	1080	‘‘(E) is a member of the National Guard 6
1081	1081	who is not eligible for a post-active duty 7
1082	1082	deferment under section 493D and is engaged 8
1083	1083	in active State duty for a period of more than 9
1084	1084	30 consecutive days beginning— 10
1085	1085	‘‘(i) the day after 6 months after the 11
1086	1086	date the student ceases to carry at least 12
1087	1087	one-half the normal full-time academic 13
1088	1088	workload (as determined by the institu-14
1089	1089	tion); or 15
1090	1090	‘‘(ii) the day after the borrower ceases 16
1091	1091	enrollment on at least a half-time basis, for 17
1092	1092	a loan in repayment; or 18
1093	1093	‘‘(F) is serving in a medical or dental in-19
1094	1094	ternship or residency program, the successful 20
1095	1095	completion of which is required to begin profes-21
1096	1096	sional practice or service, or is serving in a 22
1097	1097	medical or dental internship or residency pro-23
1098	1098	gram leading to a degree or certificate awarded 24
1099	1099	by an institution of higher education, a hos-25
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1102	1102	•HR 4144 IH
1103	1103	pital, or a health care facility that offers post-1
1104	1104	graduate training; 2
1105	1105	‘‘(2) during a period sufficient to enable the 3
1106	1106	borrower to resume honoring the agreement to repay 4
1107	1107	the outstanding balance of principal and interest on 5
1108	1108	the loan after default, if— 6
1109	1109	‘‘(A) the borrower signs a new agreement 7
1110	1110	to repay such outstanding balance; 8
1111	1111	‘‘(B) the deferment period is limited to 9
1112	1112	120 days; and 10
1113	1113	‘‘(C) such deferment is not granted for 11
1114	1114	consecutive periods; 12
1115	1115	‘‘(3) during a period of administrative 13
1116	1116	deferment— 14
1117	1117	‘‘(A) described in paragraphs (1) through 15
1118	1118	(4) of subsection (j); or 16
1119	1119	‘‘(B) described in subsection (j)(5); 17
1120	1120	‘‘(4) in the case of a borrower of an excepted 18
1121	1121	PLUS Loan or an excepted Consolidation Loan, 19
1122	1122	during a period described in subsection (k); 20
1123	1123	‘‘(5) during a period in which such borrower is 21
1124	1124	receiving treatment for cancer (in this paragraph re-22
1125	1125	ferred to as the ‘treatment period’), and the 6- 23
1126	1126	month period after such treatment period (in this 24
1127	1127	paragraph referred to as the ‘post-treatment pe-25
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1130	1130	•HR 4144 IH
1131	1131	riod’), except that, notwithstanding subsection (a), 1
1132	1132	interest shall not accrue during any such treatment 2
1133	1133	period or post-treatment period; or 3
1134	1134	‘‘(6) during a period, not to exceed an aggre-4
1135	1135	gate of 180 days, in which the borrower— 5
1136	1136	‘‘(A) is the spouse of a member of the 6
1137	1137	Armed Forces serving on active duty; and 7
1138	1138	‘‘(B) has experienced a loss of employment 8
1139	1139	as a result of relocation to accommodate a per-9
1140	1140	manent change in duty station of such member. 10
1141	1141	‘‘(c) L
1142	1142	ENGTH OFDEFERMENT.—A deferment grant-11
1143	1143	ed by the Secretary under subparagraph (F) of subsection 12
1144	1144	(b)(1) shall— 13
1145	1145	‘‘(1) be renewable at 12 month intervals; and 14
1146	1146	‘‘(2) equal the length of time remaining in the 15
1147	1147	borrower’s medical or dental internship or residency 16
1148	1148	program. 17
1149	1149	‘‘(d) R
1150	1150	EQUEST AND DOCUMENTATION.—The Sec-18
1151	1151	retary shall determine the eligibility of a borrower for a 19
1152	1152	deferment— 20
1153	1153	‘‘(1) under paragraph (1), (2), or (4) of sub-21
1154	1154	section (b), based on— 22
1155	1155	‘‘(A) the receipt of a request for a 23
1156	1156	deferment from the borrower, and documenta-24
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1159	1159	•HR 4144 IH
1160	1160	tion of the borrower’s eligibility for the 1
1161	1161	deferment; 2
1162	1162	‘‘(B) receipt of a completed loan applica-3
1163	1163	tion that documents the borrower’s eligibility 4
1164	1164	for a deferment; 5
1165	1165	‘‘(C) receipt of a student status informa-6
1166	1166	tion documenting that the borrower is enrolled 7
1167	1167	on at least a half-time basis; or 8
1168	1168	‘‘(D) the Secretary’s confirmation of the 9
1169	1169	borrower’s half-time enrollment status, if the 10
1170	1170	confirmation is requested by the institution of 11
1171	1171	higher education; and 12
1172	1172	‘‘(2) under paragraph (6) based on— 13
1173	1173	‘‘(A)(i) evidence that the borrower is the 14
1174	1174	spouse of a member of the Armed Forces serv-15
1175	1175	ing on active duty; 16
1176	1176	‘‘(ii) evidence that a military permanent 17
1177	1177	change of station order was issued to such 18
1178	1178	member; and 19
1179	1179	‘‘(iii)(I) evidence that the borrower is eligi-20
1180	1180	ble for unemployment benefits due to a loss of 21
1181	1181	employment resulting from relocation to accom-22
1182	1182	modate such permanent change in duty station; 23
1183	1183	or 24
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1186	1186	•HR 4144 IH
1187	1187	‘‘(II) a written certification, or an equiva-1
1188	1188	lent as approved by the Secretary, that the bor-2
1189	1189	rower is registered with a public or private em-3
1190	1190	ployment agency due to a loss of employment 4
1191	1191	resulting from relocation to accommodate such 5
1192	1192	permanent change in duty station; or 6
1193	1193	‘‘(B) such other documentation as the Sec-7
1194	1194	retary determines appropriate. 8
1195	1195	‘‘(e) N
1196	1196	OTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall— 9
1197	1197	‘‘(1) notify a borrower of a loan made under 10
1198	1198	this part— 11
1199	1199	‘‘(A) the granting of a deferment under 12
1200	1200	this subsection on such loan; and 13
1201	1201	‘‘(B) the option of the borrower to con-14
1202	1202	tinue making payments on the outstanding bal-15
1203	1203	ance of principal and interest on such loan in 16
1204	1204	accordance with subsection (f); 17
1205	1205	‘‘(2) at the time the Secretary grants a 18
1206	1206	deferment to a borrower of a loan made under this 19
1207	1207	part, and not less frequently than once every 180 20
1208	1208	days during the period of such deferment, provide 21
1209	1209	information to the borrower to assist the borrower in 22
1210	1210	understanding— 23
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1213	1213	•HR 4144 IH
1214	1214	‘‘(A) the effect of granting a deferment on 1
1215	1215	the total amount to be paid under the income- 2
1216	1216	driven repayment plan under 494A; 3
1217	1217	‘‘(B) interest shall not accrue, or shall ac-4
1218	1218	crue or be paid by the borrower, as specified in 5
1219	1219	subsection (a)(2); 6
1220	1220	‘‘(C) the amount of unpaid principal and 7
1221	1221	the amount of interest that has accrued since 8
1222	1222	the last statement of such amounts provided to 9
1223	1223	the borrower; and 10
1224	1224	‘‘(D) the borrower’s option to discontinue 11
1225	1225	the deferment at any time. 12
1226	1226	‘‘(f) P
1227	1227	AYMENTS BY BORROWERSAUTHORIZED.—A 13
1228	1228	borrower may make payments on the outstanding balance 14
1229	1229	of principal and interest on a loan made under this part 15
1230	1230	during any period of deferment granted under this sub-16
1231	1231	section. 17
1232	1232	‘‘(g) G
1233	1233	RADUATEFELLOWSHIPDEFERMENT.— 18
1234	1234	‘‘(1) I
1235	1235	N GENERAL.—A borrower of a loan under 19
1236	1236	this part is eligible for a deferment under subsection 20
1237	1237	(b)(1)(B)(i) during any period for which an author-21
1238	1238	ized official of the borrower’s graduate fellowship 22
1239	1239	program certifies that the borrower meets the re-23
1240	1240	quirements of paragraph (2) and is pursuing a 24
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1243	1243	•HR 4144 IH
1244	1244	course of study pursuant to an eligible graduate fel-1
1245	1245	lowship program. 2
1246	1246	‘‘(2) B
1247	1247	ORROWER REQUIREMENTS .—A borrower 3
1248	1248	meets the requirements of this subparagraph if the 4
1249	1249	borrower— 5
1250	1250	‘‘(A) holds at least a baccalaureate degree 6
1251	1251	conferred by an institution of higher education; 7
1252	1252	‘‘(B) has been accepted or recommended 8
1253	1253	by an institution of higher education for accept-9
1254	1254	ance on a full-time basis into an eligible grad-10
1255	1255	uate fellowship program; and 11
1256	1256	‘‘(C) is not serving in a medical internship 12
1257	1257	or residency program, except for a residency 13
1258	1258	program in dentistry. 14
1259	1259	‘‘(h) T
1260	1260	REATMENT OFSTUDYOUTSIDE THEUNITED 15
1261	1261	S
1262	1262	TATES.— 16
1263	1263	‘‘(1) I
1264	1264	N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall treat, 17
1265	1265	in the same manner as required under section 18
1266	1266	428(b)(4), any course of study at a foreign univer-19
1267	1267	sity that is accepted for the completion of a recog-20
1268	1268	nized international fellowship program by the admin-21
1269	1269	istrator of such a program as an eligible graduate 22
1270	1270	fellowship program. 23
1271	1271	‘‘(2) R
1272	1272	EQUESTS FOR DEFERMENT .—Requests 24
1273	1273	for deferment of repayment of loans under this sub-25
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1276	1276	•HR 4144 IH
1277	1277	section by students engaged in graduate or post-1
1278	1278	graduate fellowship-supported study (such as pursu-2
1279	1279	ant to a Fulbright grant) outside the United States 3
1280	1280	shall be approved until completion of the period of 4
1281	1281	the fellowship, in the same manner as required 5
1282	1282	under section 428(b)(4). 6
1283	1283	‘‘(i) R
1284	1284	EHABILITATION TRAINING PROGRAM 7
1285	1285	D
1286	1286	EFERMENT.—A borrower of a loan under this part is 8
1287	1287	eligible for a deferment under subsection (b)(1)(B)(ii) dur-9
1288	1288	ing any period for which an authorized official of the bor-10
1289	1289	rower’s rehabilitation training program certifies that the 11
1290	1290	borrower is pursuing an eligible rehabilitation training 12
1291	1291	program for individuals with disabilities. 13
1292	1292	‘‘(j) A
1293	1293	DMINISTRATIVEDEFERMENTS.—The Secretary 14
1294	1294	may grant a deferment to a borrower without requiring 15
1295	1295	a request and documentation from the borrower under 16
1296	1296	subsection (d) for— 17
1297	1297	‘‘(1) a period during which the borrower was 18
1298	1298	delinquent at the time a deferment is granted, in-19
1299	1299	cluding a period for which scheduled payments of 20
1300	1300	principal and interest were overdue at the time such 21
1301	1301	deferment is granted; 22
1302	1302	‘‘(2) a period during which the borrower was 23
1303	1303	granted a deferment under this subsection but for 24
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1306	1306	•HR 4144 IH
1307	1307	which the Secretary determines the borrower should 1
1308	1308	not have qualified; 2
1309	1309	‘‘(3) a period necessary for the Secretary to de-3
1310	1310	termine the borrower’s eligibility for the cancellation 4
1311	1311	of the obligation of the borrower to repay the loan 5
1312	1312	under section 437; 6
1313	1313	‘‘(4) a period during which the Secretary has 7
1314	1314	authorized deferment due to a national military mo-8
1315	1315	bilization or other local or national emergency; or 9
1316	1316	‘‘(5) a period not to exceed 60 days, during 10
1317	1317	which interest shall accrue but not be capitalized, if 11
1318	1318	the Secretary reasonably determines that a suspen-12
1319	1319	sion of collection activity is warranted to enable the 13
1320	1320	Secretary to process supporting documentation relat-14
1321	1321	ing to a borrower’s request— 15
1322	1322	‘‘(A) for a deferment under this sub-16
1323	1323	section; 17
1324	1324	‘‘(B) for a change in repayment plan under 18
1325	1325	section 455(d)(6); or 19
1326	1326	‘‘(C) to consolidate loans under this part. 20
1327	1327	‘‘(k) D
1328	1328	EFERMENTS FOR EXCEPTEDPLUS LOANS OR 21
1329	1329	E
1330	1330	XCEPTEDCONSOLIDATIONLOANS.— 22
1331	1331	‘‘(1) I
1332	1332	N GENERAL.—A qualified borrower shall 23
1333	1333	be eligible for deferments under paragraphs (3) 24
1334	1334	through (5). 25
1335	1335	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4144.IH H4144
1336	1336	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 46
1337	1337	•HR 4144 IH
1338	1338	‘‘(2) QUALIFIED BORROWER DEFINED .—In this 1
1339	1339	subsection, the term ‘qualified borrower’ means a 2
1340	1340	borrower of an excepted PLUS Loan or an excepted 3
1341	1341	consolidation loan. 4
1342	1342	‘‘(3) E
1343	1343	CONOMIC HARDSHIP DEFERMENT .— 5
1344	1344	‘‘(A) I
1345	1345	N GENERAL.—A qualified borrower 6
1346	1346	shall be eligible for a deferment during periods, 7
1347	1347	not to exceed 3 years in total, during which the 8
1348	1348	qualified borrower experiences an economic 9
1349	1349	hardship described in subparagraph (B). 10
1350	1350	‘‘(B) E
1351	1351	CONOMIC HARDSHIP.—An economic 11
1352	1352	hardship described in this clause is a period 12
1353	1353	during which the qualified borrower— 13
1354	1354	‘‘(i) is receiving payment under a 14
1355	1355	means-tested benefit program; 15
1356	1356	‘‘(ii) is employed full-time and the 16
1357	1357	monthly gross income of the qualified bor-17
1358	1358	rower does not exceed the greater of— 18
1359	1359	‘‘(I) the minimum wage rate de-19
1360	1360	scribed in section 6 of the Fair Labor 20
1361	1361	Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 21
1362	1362	206); or 22
1363	1363	‘‘(II) an amount equal to 150 23
1364	1364	percent of the poverty line; or 24
1365	1365	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4144.IH H4144
1366	1366	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 47
1367	1367	•HR 4144 IH
1368	1368	‘‘(iii) demonstrates that the sum of 1
1369	1369	the qualified borrower’s monthly payments 2
1370	1370	on the qualified borrower’s excepted PLUS 3
1371	1371	Loan or an excepted consolidation loan is 4
1372	1372	not less than 20 percent of the qualified 5
1373	1373	borrower’s monthly gross income. 6
1374	1374	‘‘(C) E
1375	1375	LIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to re-7
1376	1376	ceive a deferment under this subparagraph, a 8
1377	1377	qualified borrower shall submit to the Sec-9
1378	1378	retary— 10
1379	1379	‘‘(i) for the first period of deferment 11
1380	1380	under this subparagraph, evidence showing 12
1381	1381	the monthly gross income of the qualified 13
1382	1382	borrower; and 14
1383	1383	‘‘(ii) for a subsequent period of 15
1384	1384	deferment that begins less than one year 16
1385	1385	after the end of a period of deferment 17
1386	1386	granted under this subparagraph— 18
1387	1387	‘‘(I) evidence showing the month-19
1388	1388	ly gross income of the qualified bor-20
1389	1389	rower; or 21
1390	1390	‘‘(II) the qualified borrower’s 22
1391	1391	most recently filed Federal income tax 23
1392	1392	return, if such a return was filed in 24
1393	1393	either of the two tax years preceding 25
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1395	1395	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 48
1396	1396	•HR 4144 IH
1397	1397	the year in which the qualified bor-1
1398	1398	rower requests the subsequent period 2
1399	1399	of deferment. 3
1400	1400	‘‘(4) U
1401	1401	NEMPLOYMENT DEFERMENT .— 4
1402	1402	‘‘(A) I
1403	1403	N GENERAL.—A qualified borrower 5
1404	1404	shall be eligible for a deferment for periods dur-6
1405	1405	ing which the qualified borrower is seeking, and 7
1406	1406	is unable to find, full-time employment. 8
1407	1407	‘‘(B) E
1408	1408	LIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to re-9
1409	1409	ceive an deferment under this subparagraph, a 10
1410	1410	qualified borrower shall submit to the Sec-11
1411	1411	retary— 12
1412	1412	‘‘(i) evidence of the qualified bor-13
1413	1413	rower’s eligibility for unemployment bene-14
1414	1414	fits; or 15
1415	1415	‘‘(ii) for requests submitted after the 16
1416	1416	initial request, written confirmation, or an 17
1417	1417	equivalent as approved by the Secretary, 18
1418	1418	that the qualified borrower has made at 19
1419	1419	least six diligent attempts during the pre-20
1420	1420	ceding six-month period to secure full-time 21
1421	1421	employment. 22
1422	1422	‘‘(C) T
1423	1423	ERMS OF DEFERMENT .—The fol-23
1424	1424	lowing terms shall apply to a deferment under 24
1425	1425	this subparagraph: 25
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1428	1428	•HR 4144 IH
1429	1429	‘‘(i) INITIAL PERIOD.—The first 1
1430	1430	deferment granted to a qualified borrower 2
1431	1431	under this subparagraph may be for a pe-3
1432	1432	riod of unemployment beginning not more 4
1433	1433	than 6 months before the date on which 5
1434	1434	the Secretary receives the qualified bor-6
1435	1435	rower’s request for deferment and may be 7
1436	1436	granted for a period of up to 6 months 8
1437	1437	after that date. 9
1438	1438	‘‘(ii) R
1439	1439	ENEWALS.—Deferments under 10
1440	1440	this subparagraph shall be renewable at 6- 11
1441	1441	month intervals beginning after the expira-12
1442	1442	tion of the first period of deferment under 13
1443	1443	clause (i). To be eligible to renew a 14
1444	1444	deferment under this subparagraph, a 15
1445	1445	qualified borrower shall submit to the Sec-16
1446	1446	retary the information described in sub-17
1447	1447	paragraph (B)(i). 18
1448	1448	‘‘(iii) A
1449	1449	GGREGATE LIMIT.—The period 19
1450	1450	of all deferments granted to a borrower 20
1451	1451	under this subparagraph may not exceed 3 21
1452	1452	years in aggregate. 22
1453	1453	‘‘(5) H
1454	1454	EALTH DEFERMENT .— 23
1455	1455	‘‘(A) I
1456	1456	N GENERAL.—A qualified borrower 24
1457	1457	shall be eligible for a deferment during periods 25
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1459	1459	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 50
1460	1460	•HR 4144 IH
1461	1461	in which the qualified borrower is unable to 1
1462	1462	make scheduled loan payments due to high 2
1463	1463	medical expenses, as determined by the Sec-3
1464	1464	retary. 4
1465	1465	‘‘(B) E
1466	1466	LIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to re-5
1467	1467	ceive a deferment under this subparagraph, a 6
1468	1468	qualified borrower shall— 7
1469	1469	‘‘(i) submit to the Secretary docu-8
1470	1470	mentation demonstrating that making 9
1471	1471	scheduled loan payments would be an ex-10
1472	1472	treme economic hardship to the borrower 11
1473	1473	due to high medical expenses, as deter-12
1474	1474	mined by the Secretary; and 13
1475	1475	‘‘(ii) resubmit such documentation to 14
1476	1476	the Secretary not less frequently than once 15
1477	1477	every 3 months. 16
1478	1478	‘‘(l) P
1479	1479	ROHIBITIONS.— 17
1480	1480	‘‘(1) P
1481	1481	ROHIBITION ON FEES .—No administra-18
1482	1482	tive fee or other fee may be charged to the borrower 19
1483	1483	in connection with the granting of a deferment 20
1484	1484	under this section. 21
1485	1485	‘‘(2) P
1486	1486	ROHIBITION ON ADVERSE CREDIT RE -22
1487	1487	PORTING.—No adverse information relating to a bor-23
1488	1488	rower may be reported to a consumer reporting 24
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1490	1490	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 51
1491	1491	•HR 4144 IH
1492	1492	agency solely because of the granting of a deferment 1
1493	1493	under this section. 2
1494	1494	‘‘(3) L
1495	1495	IMITATION ON AUTHORITY .—The Sec-3
1496	1496	retary shall not, through regulation or otherwise, au-4
1497	1497	thorize additional deferment options or periods of 5
1498	1498	deferment other than the deferment options and pe-6
1499	1499	riods of deferment authorized under this section. 7
1500	1500	‘‘(m) D
1501	1501	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 8
1502	1502	‘‘(1) E
1503	1503	LIGIBLE GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP PRO -9
1504	1504	GRAM.—The term ‘eligible graduate fellowship pro-10
1505	1505	gram’, when used with respect to a course of study 11
1506	1506	pursued by the borrower of a loan under this part, 12
1507	1507	means a fellowship program that— 13
1508	1508	‘‘(A) provides sufficient financial support 14
1509	1509	to graduate fellows to allow for full-time study 15
1510	1510	for at least six months; 16
1511	1511	‘‘(B) requires a written statement from 17
1512	1512	each applicant explaining the applicant’s objec-18
1513	1513	tives before the award of that financial support; 19
1514	1514	‘‘(C) requires a graduate fellow to submit 20
1515	1515	periodic reports, projects, or evidence of the fel-21
1516	1516	low’s progress; and 22
1517	1517	‘‘(D) in the case of a course of study at an 23
1518	1518	institution of higher education outside the 24
1519	1519	United States described in section 102, accepts 25
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1521	1521	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 52
1522	1522	•HR 4144 IH
1523	1523	the course of study for completion of the fellow-1
1524	1524	ship program. 2
1525	1525	‘‘(2) E
1526	1526	LIGIBLE REHABILITATION TRAINING 3
1527	1527	PROGRAM FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES .— 4
1528	1528	The term ‘eligible rehabilitation training program 5
1529	1529	for individuals with disabilities’, when used with re-6
1530	1530	spect a course of study pursued by the borrower of 7
1531	1531	a loan under this part, means a program that— 8
1532	1532	‘‘(A) is necessary to assist an individual 9
1533	1533	with a disability in preparing for, securing, re-10
1534	1534	taining, or regaining employment; 11
1535	1535	‘‘(B) is licensed, approved, certified, or 12
1536	1536	otherwise recognized as providing rehabilitation 13
1537	1537	training to disabled individuals by— 14
1538	1538	‘‘(i) a State agency with responsibility 15
1539	1539	for vocational rehabilitation programs, 16
1540	1540	drug abuse treatment programs, mental 17
1541	1541	health services programs, or alcohol abuse 18
1542	1542	treatment programs; or 19
1543	1543	‘‘(ii) the Secretary of Veterans Af-20
1544	1544	fairs; and 21
1545	1545	‘‘(C) provides or will provide the borrower 22
1546	1546	with rehabilitation services under a written plan 23
1547	1547	that— 24
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1550	1550	•HR 4144 IH
1551	1551	‘‘(i) is individualized to meet the bor-1
1552	1552	rower’s needs; 2
1553	1553	‘‘(ii) specifies the date on which the 3
1554	1554	services to the borrower are expected to 4
1555	1555	end; and 5
1556	1556	‘‘(iii) requires a commitment of time 6
1557	1557	and effort from the borrower that prevents 7
1558	1558	the borrower from being employed at least 8
1559	1559	30 hours per week, either because of the 9
1560	1560	number of hours that must be devoted to 10
1561	1561	rehabilitation or because of the nature of 11
1562	1562	the rehabilitation. 12
1563	1563	‘‘(3) E
1564	1564	XCEPTED PLUS LOAN ; EXCEPTED CON-13
1565	1565	SOLIDATION LOAN.—The terms ‘excepted PLUS 14
1566	1566	loan’ and ‘excepted consolidation loan’ have the 15
1567	1567	meanings given such terms in section 494A. 16
1568	1568	‘‘(4) F
1569	1569	AMILY SIZE.—The term ‘family size’ 17
1570	1570	means the number that is determined by counting— 18
1571	1571	‘‘(A) the borrower; 19
1572	1572	‘‘(B) the borrower’s spouse; 20
1573	1573	‘‘(C) the borrower’s children, including un-21
1574	1574	born children who are expected to be born dur-22
1575	1575	ing the period covered by the deferment, if the 23
1576	1576	children receive more than half their support 24
1577	1577	from the borrower; and 25
1578	1578	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4144.IH H4144
1579	1579	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 54
1580	1580	•HR 4144 IH
1581	1581	‘‘(D) another individual if, at the time the 1
1582	1582	borrower requests a deferment under this sec-2
1583	1583	tion, the individual— 3
1584	1584	‘‘(i) lives with the borrower; 4
1585	1585	‘‘(ii) receives more than half of the in-5
1586	1586	dividual’s support (which may include 6
1587	1587	money, gifts, loans, housing, food, clothes, 7
1588	1588	car, medical and dental care, and payment 8
1589	1589	of college costs) from the borrower; and 9
1590	1590	‘‘(iii) is expected to receive such sup-10
1591	1591	port from the borrower during the relevant 11
1592	1592	period of deferment. 12
1593	1593	‘‘(5) F
1594	1594	ULL-TIME.—The term ‘full-time’, when 13
1595	1595	used with respect to employment, means employment 14
1596	1596	for not less than 30 hours per week that is expected 15
1597	1597	to continue for not less than three months. 16
1598	1598	‘‘(6) M
1599	1599	EANS-TESTED BENEFIT PROGRAM .—The 17
1600	1600	term ‘means-tested benefit program’ means— 18
1601	1601	‘‘(A) a State public assistance program 19
1602	1602	under which eligibility for the program’s bene-20
1603	1603	fits, or the amount of such benefits, are deter-21
1604	1604	mined on the basis of income or resources of 22
1605	1605	the individual or family seeking the benefit; or 23
1606	1606	‘‘(B) a mandatory spending program of the 24
1607	1607	Federal Government, other than a program 25
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1609	1609	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 55
1610	1610	•HR 4144 IH
1611	1611	under this title, under which eligibility for the 1
1612	1612	program’s benefits, or the amount of such bene-2
1613	1613	fits, are determined on the basis of income or 3
1614	1614	resources of the individual or family seeking the 4
1615	1615	benefit, and may include such programs as— 5
1616	1616	‘‘(i) the supplemental security income 6
1617	1617	program under title XVI of the Social Se-7
1618	1618	curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 8
1619	1619	‘‘(ii) the supplemental nutrition assist-9
1620	1620	ance program under the Food and Nutri-10
1621	1621	tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); 11
1622	1622	‘‘(iii) the program of block grants for 12
1623	1623	States for temporary assistance for needy 13
1624	1624	families established under part A of title 14
1625	1625	IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 15
1626	1626	601 et seq.); 16
1627	1627	‘‘(iv) the special supplemental nutri-17
1628	1628	tion program for women, infants, and chil-18
1629	1629	dren established by section 17 of the Child 19
1630	1630	Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786); 20
1631	1631	and 21
1632	1632	‘‘(v) other programs identified by the 22
1633	1633	Secretary. 23
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1636	1636	•HR 4144 IH
1637	1637	‘‘(7) MONTHLY GROSS INCOME .—The term 1
1638	1638	‘monthly gross income’, when used with respect to a 2
1639	1639	borrower, means— 3
1640	1640	‘‘(A) the gross amount of income received 4
1641	1641	by the borrower from employment and other 5
1642	1642	sources for the most recent month; or 6
1643	1643	‘‘(B) one-twelfth of the borrower’s adjusted 7
1644	1644	gross income, as recorded on the borrower’s 8
1645	1645	most recently filed Federal income tax return. 9
1646	1646	‘‘(8) R
1647	1647	ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—Nothing in 10
1648	1648	this section shall be construed to impact a bor-11
1649	1649	rower’s eligibility to receive the benefit of section 12
1650	1650	455(o).’’. 13
1651	1651	(b) C
1652	1652	ONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 493D(a) 14
1653	1653	(20 U.S.C. 1098f(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, or section 15
1654	1654	460A’’ after ‘‘464(c)(2)(A)(iii)’’. 16
1655	1655	SEC. 7. LOAN REHABILITATION. 17
1656	1656	(a) I
1657	1657	NGENERAL.—Section 428F(a)(5) (20 U.S.C. 18
1658	1658	1078–6) is amended by striking ‘‘one time’’ and inserting 19
1659	1659	‘‘two times’’. 20
1660	1660	(b) A
1661	1661	PPLICATION OFAMENDMENT.—The amendment 21
1662	1662	made by this section shall apply to any borrower of a loan 22
1663	1663	made, insured, or guaranteed under title IV of the Higher 23
1664	1664	Education Act of 1965 before, on, or after the date of 24
1665	1665	enactment of this Act. 25
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1668	1668	•HR 4144 IH
1669	1669	SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY TO 1
1670	1670	PROPOSE OR ISSUE REGULATIONS AND EX-2
1671	1671	ECUTIVE ACTIONS. 3
1672	1672	(a) I
1673	1673	NGENERAL.—Part G of title IV (20 U.S.C. 4
1674	1674	1088 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 492 5
1675	1675	the following: 6
1676	1676	‘‘SEC. 492A. LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY OF THE SEC-7
1677	1677	RETARY TO PROPOSE OR ISSUE REGULA-8
1678	1678	TIONS AND EXECUTIVE ACTIONS. 9
1679	1679	‘‘(a) D
1680	1680	RAFTREGULATIONS.—Beginning after the 10
1681	1681	date of enactment of this section, a draft regulation imple-11
1682	1682	menting this title (as described in section 492(b)(1)) that 12
1683	1683	is determined by the Secretary to be economically signifi-13
1684	1684	cant shall be subject to the following requirements (re-14
1685	1685	gardless of whether negotiated rulemaking occurs): 15
1686	1686	‘‘(1) The Secretary shall determine whether the 16
1687	1687	draft regulation, if implemented, would result in an 17
1688	1688	increase in a subsidy cost. 18
1689	1689	‘‘(2) If the Secretary determines under para-19
1690	1690	graph (1) that the draft regulation would result in 20
1691	1691	an increase in a subsidy cost, then the Secretary 21
1692	1692	may take no further action with respect to such reg-22
1693	1693	ulation. 23
1694	1694	‘‘(b) P
1695	1695	ROPOSED ORFINALREGULATIONS ANDEXEC-24
1696	1696	UTIVEACTIONS.—Beginning after the date of enactment 25
1697	1697	of this section, the Secretary may not issue a proposed 26
1698	1698	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00057 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4144.IH H4144
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1700	1700	•HR 4144 IH
1701	1701	rule, final regulation, or executive action implementing 1
1702	1702	this title if the Secretary determines that the rule, regula-2
1703	1703	tion, or executive action— 3
1704	1704	‘‘(1) is economically significant; and 4
1705	1705	‘‘(2) would result in an increase in a subsidy 5
1706	1706	cost. 6
1707	1707	‘‘(c) R
1708	1708	ELATIONSHIP TO OTHERREQUIREMENTS.— 7
1709	1709	The analyses required under subsections (a) and (b) shall 8
1710	1710	be in addition to any other cost analysis required under 9
1711	1711	law for a regulation implementing this title, including any 10
1712	1712	cost analysis that may be required pursuant to Executive 11
1713	1713	Order 12866 (58 Fed. Reg. 51735; relating to regulatory 12
1714	1714	planning and review), Executive Order 13563 (76 Fed. 13
1715	1715	Reg. 3821; relating to improving regulation and regu-14
1716	1716	latory review), or any related or successor orders. 15
1717	1717	‘‘(d) D
1718	1718	EFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘eco-16
1719	1719	nomically significant’, when used with respect to a draft, 17
1720	1720	proposed, or final regulation or executive action, means 18
1721	1721	that the regulation or executive action is likely, as deter-19
1722	1722	mined by the Secretary— 20
1723	1723	‘‘(1) to have an annual effect on the economy 21
1724	1724	of $100,000,000 or more; or 22
1725	1725	‘‘(2) adversely to affect in a material way the 23
1726	1726	economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, com-24
1727	1727	petition, jobs, the environment, public health or safe-25
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1731	1731	ty, or State, local, or tribal governments or commu-1
1732	1732	nities.’’. 2
1733	1733	(b) P
1734	1734	ROHIBITION ONCERTAINFINALRULE.—Ex-3
1735	1735	cept as expressly authorized by an Act of Congress, the 4
1736	1736	Secretary may not implement, administer, or enforce a 5
1737	1737	final rule that is substantially similar to the proposed rule 6
1738	1738	on ‘‘Improving Income-Driven Repayment for the William 7
1739	1739	D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program’’ published by the 8
1740	1740	Department of Education in the Federal Register on Jan-9
1741	1741	uary 11, 2023 (88 Fed. Reg. 1894 et seq.). 10
1742	1742	Æ
1743	1743	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:59 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4144.IH H4144
1744	1744	kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS