Military Spouse Student Loan Deferment Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7433 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 JUNE 30, 2020 Ms. STEFANIK (for herself and Mr. NORCROSS) 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 SEC. 2. STUDENT LOAN DEFERMENT FOR DISLOCATED 6 MILITARY SPOUSES. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 455(f) of the Higher Edu- 8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(f)) is amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:37 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7433.IH H7433 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7433 IH (1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as 1 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and 2 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘(4) DEFERMENT FOR DISLOCATED MILITARY 5 SPOUSES.— 6 ‘‘(A) DURATION AND EFFECT ON PRIN- 7 CIPAL AND INTEREST.—A borrower of a loan 8 made, insured, or guaranteed under this part or 9 part B who meets the requirements of subpara- 10 graph (B) shall be eligible for a deferment for 11 a period of 90 days, during which periodic in- 12 stallments of principal need not be paid, and in- 13 terest shall not accrue. 14 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—A borrower of a loan 15 made, insured, or guaranteed under this part or 16 part B shall be eligible for a deferment under 17 subparagraph (A) if the borrower— 18 ‘‘(i) is the spouse of a member of the 19 Armed Forces serving on active duty; and 20 ‘‘(ii) has experienced a loss of employ- 21 ment as a result of relocation to accommo- 22 date a permanent change in duty station of 23 such member. 24 ‘‘(C) DOCUMENTATION AND APPROVAL.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:37 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7433.IH H7433 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7433 IH ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A borrower may 1 establish eligibility for a deferment under 2 subparagraph (A) by providing to the Sec- 3 retary— 4 ‘‘(I) the documentation described 5 in clause (ii); or 6 ‘‘(II) such other documentation 7 as the Secretary determines appro- 8 priate. 9 ‘‘(ii) DOCUMENTATION.—The docu- 10 mentation described in this clause is— 11 ‘‘(I) evidence that the borrower is 12 the spouse of a member of the Armed 13 Forces serving on active duty; 14 ‘‘(II) evidence that a military 15 permanent change of station order 16 was issued to such member; and 17 ‘‘(III)(aa) evidence that the bor- 18 rower is eligible for unemployment 19 benefits due to a loss of employment 20 resulting from relocation to accommo- 21 date such permanent change in duty 22 station; or 23 ‘‘(bb) a written certification, or 24 an equivalent as approved by the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:37 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7433.IH H7433 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7433 IH retary, that the borrower is registered 1 with a public or private employment 2 agency due to a loss of employment 3 resulting from relocation to accommo- 4 date such permanent change in duty 5 station.’’. 6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 7 subsection (a) shall take effect 90 days after the date of 8 the enactment of this Act. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:37 Jul 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7433.IH H7433 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS