Military Spouse Student Loan Deferment Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3641 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide student loan deferment for dislocated military spouses, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 28, 2021 Ms. STEFANIK (for herself, Mr. NORCROSS, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, Mr. MAST, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Ms. HERRELL, Mr. GOHMERT, Ms. NORTON, Ms. KAPTUR, Mrs. BICE of Oklahoma, and Mrs. WAGNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide student loan deferment for dislocated military spouses, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Military Spouse Stu- 4 dent Loan Deferment Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:38 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3641.IH H3641 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3641 IH SEC. 2. STUDENT LOAN DEFERMENT FOR DISLOCATED 1 MILITARY SPOUSES. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 455(f) of the Higher Edu- 3 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(f)) is amended— 4 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as 5 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and 6 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol- 7 lowing: 8 ‘‘(4) DEFERMENT FOR DISLOCATED MILITARY 9 SPOUSES.— 10 ‘‘(A) DURATION AND EFFECT ON PRIN- 11 CIPAL AND INTEREST.—A borrower of a loan 12 made, insured, or guaranteed under this part or 13 part B who meets the requirements of subpara- 14 graph (B) shall be eligible for a deferment for 15 a period of 90 days, during which periodic in- 16 stallments of principal need not be paid, and in- 17 terest shall not accrue. 18 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—A borrower of a loan 19 made, insured, or guaranteed under this part or 20 part B shall be eligible for a deferment under 21 subparagraph (A) if the borrower— 22 ‘‘(i) is the spouse of a member of the 23 Armed Forces serving on active duty; and 24 ‘‘(ii) has experienced a loss of employ- 25 ment as a result of relocation to accommo- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:38 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3641.IH H3641 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3641 IH date a permanent change in duty station of 1 such member. 2 ‘‘(C) DOCUMENTATION AND APPROVAL.— 3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A borrower may 4 establish eligibility for a deferment under 5 subparagraph (A) by providing to the Sec- 6 retary— 7 ‘‘(I) the documentation described 8 in clause (ii); or 9 ‘‘(II) such other documentation 10 as the Secretary determines appro- 11 priate. 12 ‘‘(ii) DOCUMENTATION.—The docu- 13 mentation described in this clause is— 14 ‘‘(I) evidence that the borrower is 15 the spouse of a member of the Armed 16 Forces serving on active duty; 17 ‘‘(II) evidence that a military 18 permanent change of station order 19 was issued to such member; and 20 ‘‘(III)(aa) evidence that the bor- 21 rower is eligible for unemployment 22 benefits due to a loss of employment 23 resulting from relocation to accommo- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:38 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3641.IH H3641 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3641 IH date such permanent change in duty 1 station; or 2 ‘‘(bb) a written certification, or 3 an equivalent as approved by the Sec- 4 retary, that the borrower is registered 5 with a public or private employment 6 agency due to a loss of employment 7 resulting from relocation to accommo- 8 date such permanent change in duty 9 station.’’. 10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 11 subsection (a) shall take effect 90 days after the date of 12 the enactment of this Act. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:38 Jun 24, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3641.IH H3641 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS