Student Loan Relief Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4749 To provide temporary authority to the Secretary of Education to reissue certain student loans to reduce interest rates paid by borrowers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 18, 2019 Mr. CLAY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To provide temporary authority to the Secretary of Edu- cation to reissue certain student loans to reduce interest rates paid by borrowers, 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 ‘‘Student Loan Relief 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4749.IH H4749 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4749 IH SEC. 2. TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO REDUCE STUDENT 1 LOAN INTEREST RATES. 2 Part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 3 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.) is amended by inserting 4 after section 459B the following new section: 5 ‘‘SEC. 459C. TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO REISSUE STUDENT 6 LOANS TO REDUCE INTEREST RATES. 7 ‘‘(a) TEMPORARY AUTHORITY TO REISSUE STUDENT 8 LOANS TO REDUCE INTEREST RATES.—Notwithstanding 9 section 455(b)(9)(C) or any other provision of this Act, 10 for the 10-year period beginning on the date of enactment 11 of the Student Loan Relief Act of 2019, the Secretary is 12 authorized to reissue a loan which was made under this 13 part on or after the date that was 20 years before the 14 date of enactment of the Student Loan Relief Act of 2019, 15 and before the date that is 10 years after such date of 16 enactment, in order to permit the borrower to obtain a 17 reduced interest rate in accordance with this section. 18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.— 19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall reissue 20 a loan under this section for a borrower who— 21 ‘‘(A) has an outstanding balance on one or 22 more loans made under this part; and 23 ‘‘(B) submits to the Secretary, at such 24 time and in such manner as the Secretary may 25 require, a completed application for the loan to 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4749.IH H4749 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4749 IH be reissued with an interest rate reduction in 1 accordance with this section. 2 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—If a borrower has been con- 3 victed of, or has pled nolo contendere or guilty to, 4 a crime involving fraud in obtaining funds under 5 this title, the borrower shall not be eligible to have 6 a loan reissued under this section unless the bor- 7 rower has completed the repayment of such funds to 8 the Secretary, or to the holder in the case of a loan 9 under this title obtained by fraud. 10 ‘‘(c) REDUCED INTEREST RATE.—For each loan re- 11 issued by the Secretary under this section on or after the 12 date of enactment of the Student Loan Relief Act of 2019, 13 and before the date that is 10 years after such date of 14 enactment, the applicable rate of interest shall, for loans 15 reissued during any 12-month period beginning on July 16 1 and ending on June 30, be determined on the preceding 17 June 1 and be a rate equal to the high yield of the 10- 18 year Treasury note auctioned at the final auction held 19 prior to such June 1. 20 ‘‘(d) TERMS OF REISSUANCE.—A loan reissued by 21 the Secretary under this section shall— 22 ‘‘(1) have the same terms (other than applicable 23 rate of interest) as the terms of the loan before 24 reissuance, including the terms related to eligibility 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4749.IH H4749 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4749 IH for consolidation of such loan in accordance with 1 this title; 2 ‘‘(2) have an applicable reduced rate of interest 3 on the loan calculated in accordance with subsection 4 (c), and such rate shall be fixed for the remaining 5 period of the loan; 6 ‘‘(3) not require the execution of a new promis- 7 sory note and shall not result in the extension of the 8 duration of the note; and 9 ‘‘(4) not be reissued more than one time under 10 this section. 11 ‘‘(e) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—As soon as prac- 12 ticable after the date of enactment of the Student Loan 13 Relief Act of 2019, the Secretary shall take such steps 14 as may be necessary to— 15 ‘‘(1) notify borrowers of the availability of the 16 program authorized under this section, and the ter- 17 mination date for such program; and 18 ‘‘(2) allow borrowers to easily determine wheth- 19 er reissuance of a loan under this section will reduce 20 the interest rates and overall costs of the out- 21 standing loans of the borrower, before the borrower 22 applies for such reissuance.’’. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:52 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4749.IH H4749 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS