Students and Young Consumers Empowerment Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3547 To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to establish the position of the Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, to establish the Office for Students and Young Consumers of the Bureau, and for other pur- poses. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 27, 2019 Ms. BONAMICI (for herself and Ms. PORTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to establish the position of the Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate of the Bureau of Con- sumer Financial Protection, to establish the Office for Students and Young Consumers of the Bureau, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3547.IH H3547 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3547 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Students and Young 2 Consumers Empowerment Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND STUDENT LOAN BOR- 4 ROWER ADVOCATE. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1035 of the Consumer Fi- 6 nancial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5535) is 7 amended to read as follows: 8 ‘‘SEC. 1035. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND STUDENT LOAN 9 BORROWER ADVOCATE. 10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the po- 11 sition of Assistant Director and Student Loan Borrower 12 Advocate, who shall be appointed by the Director. 13 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Assistant Director and Student 14 Loan Borrower Advocate shall— 15 ‘‘(1) serve as the head of the Office for Stu- 16 dents and Young Consumers established under sub- 17 section (e); 18 ‘‘(2) not later than the end of the 60-day period 19 beginning on the date of enactment of this section, 20 enter into a memorandum of understanding with the 21 Secretary of Education, the Chief Operating Officer 22 appointed under section 141(d) of the Higher Edu- 23 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1018(d)), and the 24 Student Loan Ombudsman appointed under section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3547.IH H3547 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3547 IH 141(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 1 U.S.C. 1018(f)) that— 2 ‘‘(A) ensures coordination in providing as- 3 sistance to and serving borrowers seeking to re- 4 solve complaints related to their private edu- 5 cation or Federal student loans; 6 ‘‘(B) authorizes the Bureau to access all 7 relevant Department of Education information 8 systems, records, and data, including any rel- 9 evant information systems, records, or data 10 maintained by contractors of the Department of 11 Education; 12 ‘‘(3) accept and attempt to resolve complaints 13 from borrowers with both private education loans 14 and Federal student loans, including complaints 15 against lenders, servicers, and debt collectors; and 16 ‘‘(4) carry out such other duties as the Director 17 may determine appropriate. 18 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—The Director 19 shall provide written notice and an explanation to the ap- 20 propriate congressional committees, if— 21 ‘‘(1) the position of the Assistant Director and 22 Student Loan Borrower Advocate has been vacant 23 for a period of 60 days or more; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3547.IH H3547 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3547 IH ‘‘(2) the memorandum of understanding re- 1 quired under subsection (b)(2) has lapsed for a pe- 2 riod of 60 days or more. 3 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.— 4 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL REPORT ON THE STUDENT LOAN 5 MARKETPLACE.—The Assistant Director and Stu- 6 dent Loan Borrower Advocate shall— 7 ‘‘(A) compile and analyze complaints from 8 borrowers with Federal student loans or private 9 education loans; 10 ‘‘(B) not less than once per year, submit a 11 report to Congress summarizing the activities of 12 the Assistant Director and Student Loan Bor- 13 rower Advocate in the previous year and includ- 14 ing an independent evaluation of risks to con- 15 sumers posed by policies and practices in the 16 student loan marketplace; and 17 ‘‘(C) as part of each report submitted in 18 accordance with subparagraph (B), and any 19 other time deemed prudent by the Student 20 Loan Borrower Advocate, make recommenda- 21 tions to the Director, the Secretary of the 22 Treasury, the Secretary of Education, and the 23 appropriate congressional committees to ad- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3547.IH H3547 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3547 IH dress risk to student loan borrowers and 1 strengthen the student loan marketplace. 2 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL REPORT ON CAMPUS BANKING.— 3 Not less than once per year, the Assistant Director 4 and Student Loan Borrower Advocate shall issue a 5 report to the appropriate congressional committees 6 analyzing the use of consumer financial products 7 and services by students enrolled at institutions of 8 higher education, including an evaluation of con- 9 tracts and other financial arrangements between in- 10 stitutions of higher education and providers of con- 11 sumer financial products and services, including an 12 evaluation of revenue sharing provisions, marketing 13 provisions, and fees assessed to students who use 14 such products and services. 15 ‘‘(3) REPORT ON RISKS TO YOUNG CON- 16 SUMERS.—Not less than once per year, the Assistant 17 Director and Student Loan Borrower Advocate shall 18 issue a report to the appropriate congressional com- 19 mittees containing an analysis of complaints sub- 20 mitted to the Bureau by young consumers during 21 the previous year and offering an independent eval- 22 uation of risks to consumers posed by policies and 23 practices in the marketplace for consumer financial 24 products and services. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3547.IH H3547 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3547 IH ‘‘(e) OFFICE FOR STUDENTS AND YOUNG CON- 1 SUMERS.—There is established an Office for Students and 2 Young Consumers, which shall be responsible for devel- 3 oping and implementing initiatives for students, young 4 consumers, and their families intended to— 5 ‘‘(1) educate and empower students, young con- 6 sumers, and their families to make better informed 7 decisions regarding consumer financial products and 8 services; and 9 ‘‘(2) coordinate efforts among Federal and 10 State agencies, as appropriate, regarding consumer 11 protection measures relating to consumer financial 12 products and services offered to, or used by, stu- 13 dents, young consumers, and their families. 14 ‘‘(f) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION; MARKET MONI- 15 TORING.— 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sec- 17 tion, the Assistant Director and Student Loan Bor- 18 rower Advocate shall have the authority to gather in- 19 formation from time to time regarding the organiza- 20 tion, business conduct, markets, and activities of 21 covered persons and service providers. 22 ‘‘(2) SOURCES OF INFORMATION.—In gathering 23 information described under paragraph (1), the As- 24 sistant Director and Student Loan Borrower Advo- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3547.IH H3547 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3547 IH cate may gather and compile information from a va- 1 riety of sources, including examination reports con- 2 cerning covered persons or service providers, con- 3 sumer complaints, voluntary surveys and voluntary 4 interviews of consumers, surveys and interviews with 5 covered persons and service providers, and review of 6 available databases. 7 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE REPORTS AND 8 OTHER INFORMATION.—The Director shall, upon the 9 recommendation of the Assistant Director and Stu- 10 dent Loan Borrower Advocate, require covered per- 11 sons and service providers participating in consumer 12 financial services markets to file with the Bureau, 13 under oath or otherwise, in such form and within 14 such reasonable period of time as the Bureau may 15 prescribe by rule or order, annual or special reports, 16 answers in writing to specific questions, or other in- 17 formation described under section 1022(c)(4). 18 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—The Bureau may not use 19 its authorities under this subsection to obtain 20 records from covered persons and service providers 21 participating in consumer financial services markets 22 for purposes of gathering or analyzing the personally 23 identifiable financial information of consumers. 24 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3547.IH H3547 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3547 IH ‘‘(1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 1 TEES.—The term ‘appropriate congressional com- 2 mittees’ means the Committees on Education and 3 Labor and Financial Services of the House of Rep- 4 resentatives and the Committees on Banking, Hous- 5 ing, and Urban Affairs and Health, Education, 6 Labor and Pensions of the Senate. 7 ‘‘(2) TRUTH IN LENDING ACT TERMS.—The 8 terms ‘private education loan’ and ‘institution of 9 higher education’ have the meanings given those 10 terms, respectively, under section 140 of the Truth 11 in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1650).’’. 12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 13 under section 1(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform 14 and Consumer Protection Act is amended, in the item re- 15 lating to section 1035, by striking ‘‘Private Education 16 Loan Ombudsman’’ and inserting ‘‘Assistant Director and 17 Student Loan Borrower Advocate’’. 18 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. 19 Part D of title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 20 (20 U.S.C. 1018 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 21 the following: 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3547.IH H3547 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3547 IH ‘‘SEC. 144. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH THE 1 ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND STUDENT LOAN 2 BORROWER ADVOCATE. 3 ‘‘Not later than the end of the 60-day period begin- 4 ning on the date of enactment of this section, the Sec- 5 retary of Education, the Chief Operating Officer ap- 6 pointed under section 141(d), and the Student Loan Om- 7 budsman appointed under section 141(f) shall enter into 8 a memorandum of understanding with the Assistant Di- 9 rector and Student Loan Borrower Advocate of the Bu- 10 reau of Consumer Financial Protection that— 11 ‘‘(1) ensures coordination in providing assist- 12 ance to and serving borrowers seeking to resolve 13 complaints related to their private education loans or 14 loans made, insured, or guaranteed under title IV; 15 and 16 ‘‘(2) authorizes the Bureau to access all rel- 17 evant Department information systems, records, and 18 data, including any relevant information systems, 19 records, or data maintained by contractors of the 20 Department.’’. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:53 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3547.IH H3547 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS