State-based Education Loan Awareness Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 3054 To establish that a State-based education loan program is excluded from certain requirements relating to a preferred lender arrangement. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 16, 2019 Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. REED, and Mr. BRAUN) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish that a State-based education loan program is excluded from certain requirements relating to a pre- ferred lender arrangement. 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 ‘‘State-based Education 4 Loan Awareness Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. STATE-BASED EDUCATION LOAN PROGRAMS. 6 Section 151 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 7 U.S.C. 1019) is amended— 8 (1) in paragraph (8)(B)— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:05 Dec 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3054.IS S3054 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3054 IS (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 1 semicolon; 2 (B) in clause (ii), by striking the period at 3 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 4 (C) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(iii) arrangements or agreements 6 with respect to education loans made 7 under a State-based education loan pro- 8 gram; or 9 ‘‘(iv) arrangements or agreements 10 with respect to education loans funded, in- 11 sured, or guaranteed by any other Federal 12 agency that is not the Department of Edu- 13 cation.’’; and 14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(10) STATE-BASED EDUCATION LOAN PRO- 16 GRAM.—The term ‘State-based education loan pro- 17 gram’ means an education loan program that— 18 ‘‘(A) is provided by a State agency, State 19 authority, or nonprofit organization, separately 20 or jointly; 21 ‘‘(B) makes loans that are not funded, in- 22 sured, or guaranteed by the Federal Govern- 23 ment; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:05 Dec 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3054.IS S3054 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3054 IS ‘‘(C) is authorized, established, or char- 1 tered by State law, or otherwise approved by 2 the State; 3 ‘‘(D) offers one or more loans for which 4 the interest rate and fees, as calculated in ac- 5 cordance with sections 106 and 107 of the 6 Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1605; 1606), 7 are at least as favorable as the interest rate and 8 fees of the Direct PLUS loans authorized under 9 part D of title IV at the time such loan is origi- 10 nated; and 11 ‘‘(E) is available only to a borrower who 12 has been advised by an institution of higher 13 education (as defined under section 102)— 14 ‘‘(i) that the borrower has the oppor- 15 tunity to exhaust eligibility for Federal 16 education loans made under part D of title 17 IV prior to accepting a private education 18 loan; and 19 ‘‘(ii) of the interest rates, fees, and 20 benefits of such Federal education loans, 21 including income-driven repayment options, 22 opportunities for loan forgiveness, forbear- 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:05 Dec 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3054.IS S3054 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3054 IS ance or deferment options, interest sub- 1 sidies, and tax benefits.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:05 Dec 19, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3054.IS S3054 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS